


Lost & Found

by Nikkimoon25



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Eventual Happy Ending, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Not Beta Read, Prompt Fic, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:07:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25708672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikkimoon25/pseuds/Nikkimoon25
Summary: After being left broken-hearted and newly single at the airport departure lounge, Magnus Bane has one of two choices, go back to his girlfriend who he was planning to propose to and beg her to take him back or leave on his 10 day holiday to Tagaytay in the Philippines. Deciding to go onto the flight, Magnus arrives at the hotel bar to meet Alec who has just been left at the altar. After a long night of drowning their sorrows together, in the morning both men find themselves in Alec's honeymoon suite.....remembering nothing of the night before and both wearing rings on their fourth finger.Leaving both men to wonder.......What happened last night?
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Andrew Underhill, Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Dorothea "Dot" Rollins, Simon Lewis/Isabelle Lightwood
Comments: 102
Kudos: 390





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! Hope you are all okay and keeping safe. 
> 
> This idea was originally a prompt that I had read on twitter which I thought I would give a go at writing out! 
> 
> Big shout out to @OumyLightwood for the prompt 
> 
> THE PROMPT!!  
> When Magnus booked a 10 day stay in Tagaytay, he thought that it would be the best place to propose to his girlfriend. He has it all set up, ready to go. What he didn't expect was to get dumped at the airport terminal right before their flight. 
> 
> Dejected, he decides to go on his vacation if only just to wallow in self pity. His first night in, he finds himself at the resort bar, getting drunk and finding solace in the equally miserable man next to him. If Magnus thought being left at the airport was shitty, he had anything on Alec who was left at the altar. 
> 
> Together, the two men spend the evening drowning their sorrows in pitcher after pitcher of margaritas, trying to make the ache of heartbreak slip away. It doesn't hurt that Alec is gorgeous, and that his smile is making Magnus forget about the whole thing, or maybe that's the alcohol. It's all. Little fuzzy. 
> 
> What Magnus doesn't expect is waking up to Alec sharing his pillow, his body naked and magnificent, dressed in nothing but the ring Magnus was supposed to propose with. I mean, no need to panic 
> 
> Except Magnus is also wearing the ring Alec had been fiddling with the night before, and something tells him that they did a little more than just propose
> 
> I've put the rating to Mature for language mainly as sex scenes will be implied.
> 
> I know this is very much like the story line to the movie "What Happen In Vegas" but I will try and stray away from it as much as possible, however it may influence a few moments in the fic. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

“Flight 204 to Tagaytay has been delayed. Please await for more announcements soon.” The tannoy announced around the large airport departure lounge. 

Magnus Bane groaned as he sat at the bar in the departure lounge of New York airport shuffling his feet, searching around the large space for a familiar face. To keep himself busy, he checked his phone for the hundredth time in the last hour and scurried through his bag for the one important item that he dare not lose. He let out a sigh of relief when his hand felt the small velvet box against his fingers as his heart leaped with excitement in his chest. This was it. This was the occasion that Magnus had been waiting for his whole life. He had finally found the one. He knew that she was the one. He was going to go on holiday with the love of his life and he was going to ask her to marry him. He had it all worked out in his head. He had researched for weeks for the perfect spot where he would drop down to one knee and propose to his girlfriend of five years. 

Things between them had been a little rocky recently but he just knew in his heart that once he had proposed, things would be alright between them again. He hoped it would respark their relationship to the puppy love stage that they had grown out of so many years ago. He knew in his heart that Dorothea Rollins was the woman that he was going to spend the rest of his life with. If Magnus had planned it right, she should be meeting him any minute in the departure lounge for their 10 day get away to Tagaytey in the Philippines. He had checked his secret compartment where the ring sat, his grandmothers engagement ring no less, for the 12th time in the last hour. Luckily Dot was not there when he had to go through security and was able to explain that there was a ring in the box to avoid the metal detectors going off and having an embarrassing situation between them. Dot had said that she would meet him at the departure gate as she had a last minute meeting and insisted that Magnus go first and get them a decent place to sit while they wait.

Knowing that despite the flight being delayed, it probably would not be delayed for long so he decided to call Dot and find out where she was. 

“Hey darling. Where abouts are you?”

The answer on the phone was silent. Magnus furrowed his eyes in concern. “Dot, is everything okay?” 

He heard a quiet sob through the phone. “What’s wrong?” 

“I’m so sorry Magnus I can’t do this anymore. I've done a lot of thinking lately and I've come to realise that..... I don’t love you anymore and you deserve someone who will love you the way that you deserve” 

Magnus sat there shocked. “I’m sorry. What?” 

“I’m so sorry Magnus. I can’t do this with you anymore. I feel that I would be lying to you and myself if I went with you on holiday. It would be unfair for me to do this to you” 

Rage immediately fills his body, but for the sake of being in public and the potential of being thrown out of the airport if he caused a scene, he tried to remain calm. “Are you shitting me right now?” He stutters quietly “Are you really doing this right now? You're breaking up with me over the phone?”

“I’m sorry Mag-“ 

“What would you have done if I hadn't called you just now? Were you ever going to tell me? Were you just going to let me sit here all alone in the departures lounge waiting for you while our flight leaves?” 

“I’m so sorry Mags. I never meant for this to get this far but you seemed so excited about going away together. I thought that maybe we could go and it could help me to remember about the times when we were happy together.”

Magnus scoffed “And what? Force yourself to love me again? That's sadistic Dot!”

“So it’s sadistic to want to love someone even though they are never around? You work all of the time. I never get to see you. I never know where you are half of the time.” Well this was not the way Magnus thought this conversation would go.

“I own a club dot. I need to be there to make sure it all runs smoothly. You know this.”

“I do and I understand. But you have to remember that the people that are around you matter. I never seem to matter to you anymore.” 

“Thats not true Dot. I-“

“You need to take some time to look after yourself Magnus otherwise you are going to burn out. You're at the airport now. Why not go to Tagatay? Take some time off for yourself. I’ll have my stuff moved out by the time you are gone.”

There was a silence moment between them and the tension could have been cut with a knife “But I did this for us. So we could spend some time together. Just us. No one else.” He answered quietly.

Sobs continue to ring through the phone line as Dot quietly replies “I’m sorry Magnus.” Suddenly the line goes dead and Magnus sits there dumbfounded, staring at the blank scene of his phone taking the events in. Dot has just broken up with him. Over the phone. All of those years gone to waste. He thought what they had was good together. Yes he had been working a little excessively recently because there was a big charity event coming up soon but that was no reason to break up with someone! 

“Flight 204 to Tagatay is now boarding. Please make your way to departure gate 6 for departure.” 

Shit. What was he going to do? He currently has two options. He could go to Tagatay and take some time to process everything, or he could go home and try to convince Dot that she was making a mistake, apologise to her profusely and make her see that they were great together. That they fit together. That they were worth fighting for. 

“Last call for flight 204 to Tagatay is now boarding. Please make your way to departure gate 6 for departure.” 

Magnus’s heart lurched. “Fuck it.” He murmered to himself as he grabbed his bag, passport and boarding ticket. He knew what he needed to do. He was in the departure lounge. He had done the hard part. He had a holiday that he had paid for, all expenses paid mind you, and like hell was he going to let that go to waste. He knew that if he was outside the airport he would not be doing this but he also knew that he needed to get away from everything. He needed to process everything. 

He was going to Tagaytay. 

——————————————— 

After the long 16 hour flight, Magnus Bane was ready to get off this damn plane. He had managed to sleep most of the way. He had even been considerate enough to book an overnight flight so they wouldn’t have to be awake the entire time! He arrived at the hotel in record time and after a very awkward conversation with the person on the front desk explaining that it was just him arriving today, he had got himself settled in his suite. He flopped himself onto the bed, taking the room in and instantly groaned as he forgot that he had had the room prepared to be a romantic paradise for himself and Dot. There were rose petals on the bed, champagne sitting in a bucket of ice on the table at the end of the bed and flowers dotted everywhere, all peonies as they were Dot’s favourite. 

Magnus shocked himself as he felt numb to what was around him. He guessed that spending 16 hours on a flight wondering whether he had done the right thing in coming to the Philippines and having a silent cry or two to himself to the point of exhaustion probably did the trick. He decided that he was here. He had actually gone out here now so he might as well enjoy it. He got up from the bed, called down to room service to get the vases for peonies removed and removed the flower petals from the bed. There was no way he was getting rid of the champagne. Alcohol is alcohol in his book. 

After getting some much needed sleep, Magnus wakes up and looks at the clock on his phone. It had automatically changed to the correct time zone and currently read 7pm. After ordering some room service, Magnus had a shower and decided to head downstairs to the onsite bar. He needed a drink and the buzz from the champagne he had finished before he went to sleep had gone. He needed to drink away his sorrows and work out in his head what he was going to do next. He had worked out that he had another 8 days left of his holiday and he was not going to waste them. 

As he settled himself down at the bar, he scrambled around in his pockets for his wallet and found a familiar box in his pocket. He must have moved the ring box last night to his jacket pocket. He had got into the habit of keeping it on him at all times to avoid Dot finding it and ruining the surprise. As he was sipping on his cocktail, he opened up at the box and stared at the ring. If he had planned it right, by now Dot would have been wearing it. He was planning on proposing on the first night they got there. He was going to take her to the beach that was next to their hotel and propose as the sun set. Now here he was just sitting here, feeling sorry for himself playing with the last thing his grandmother had left him. He had promised her that the ring would go to someone that he knew would be his forever. This ring had been passed down from generation to generation and it always brought good fortune to the women who wore it. 

After his third cocktail, he was brought out of his thoughts by a young man who sat next to him. He was dressed in a black tux with a white shirt. His black hair was messy but the look seemed to suit him. In all honesty, if Magnus wasn’t feeling the way that he was and Dot was never in the picture, he probably would have flirted with the guy a little. He looked very attractive, but something about the guy’s face seemed to say that he was not in a good mood. 

“That’s a nice ring you have there. Where’s the lucky lady?” His voice was deep and very sexy. Magnus turned to look at the guy as he took a sip from his whiskey on the rocks. 

Magnus silently chuckled as he stared at the ring again, fiddling with the box in his hand. “Back in New York. Probably moving her stuff out of our apartment by now.” 

“Wow. I’m sorry. Seems like it is not a good day for anyone in love” The guy answered.

“Oh really? Did you get dumped over the phone while you were in an airport lounge on your way here too?” Magnus inwardly scolded himself after his comment. He honestly didn’t mean for it come out as bitter as it sounded. 

Magnus took another look at the guy sitting next to him. He noticed that there was a flower in the corner of his tux jacket. 

“Just been to a wedding?” He asked as a way of changing the conversation. 

“Yeah…..mine.” The guy said downing his drink in one go and immediately asking the bartender for another. A pang hit Magnus’ chest. This should have been him in the future. But why did the guy look so sad? Surely getting married is a wonderful occasion for both parties involved. 

“Then I guess congratulations are in order. Where is the lovely bride?” 

The man scoffed. “I wouldn’t know. But I can tell you that my groom decided that marriage was not for him at the last minute and left me standing at the altar. When I ran after him to confront him, I caught him kissing his so called best friend…. in our honeymoon suite.” 

Magnus widened his eyes in shock. “Oh wow. I’m so sorry. That’s such a dick move.” 

The man laughed. “Yeah. Tell me about it.”

“My good man” He said to the bartender. “Can I get a big pitcher of margaritas and a couple of tequila shots. I think it is going to be well needed tonight” 

As the bartender went to serve the drinks, the man puts his hand up in protest. “Honestly there’s no need. I’m okay” 

“Well, I can’t do this little pity party on my own and as they say misery loves company. We’ve both been jilted badly by our partners so there’s definitely a need for alcohol” Magnus joked causing the man to slightly smile. Magnus smiled in return. The man had a gorgeous smile and he hoped that he could see more of it. 

“I guess you’re right. I’m Alec” The guy says holding his hand out for Magnus to shake. 

“Magnus” He replied shaking his hand. “And again, I’m really sorry. But I have to ask where are the rest of your family then? Shouldn’t they be the ones consoling you and not some random stranger you have just met?” 

Alec shakes his head. “They don’t know I’m here. As far as they are concerned I’m still in the suite taking a nap but I didn’t want to be in that room right now. It’s…. just too much.” 

Magnus nods. “I understand.” As if on cue, the pitcher turns up along with two already poured drinks to match. Magnus hands one to Alec. “To us, and to starting over.” 

“To starting over” They clink their glasses together. 

After hours and a few pitcher later, both Alec and Magnus are giggling and happily swaying in a loving haze of margaritas and tequila shots. 

“I should probably call it quits for tonight. I know I’ve definitely had more than enough” Alec says, trying to fish through his pockets for his room key. 

“Yeah you’re probably right. I need to get some sleep” 

“You know? For what it’s worth, you’re a really nice guy Magnus.” Alec says smiling in Magnus’s direction. Magnus could tell from Alec’s tone that he meant every word.

“Why thank you darling. You are not so bad yourself” Magnus chastised himself as Alec laughed. He really needed to not flirt with this guy. It’s too soon for either of them. But he couldn’t help it! Alec is officially adonis in a tux and his drunken side had taken over for the night. 

Alec’s face drops as his hands stop rooting around in his pockets and he fishes out a ring from his inside pocket. He immediately starts to tear up and stares directly at the ring. Magnus notices his expression change and by the angel does he understand that expression well. 

“Was that his?” He asks carefully 

“No. It was going to be mine. I should be wearing it right now and celebrating with An-Andrew.” Magnus notices the tears starting to fall down his face.

“Oh Alec” Magnus’s heart bled for the guy. He looked so heartbroken and it was breaking Magnus’s heart watch this beautiful man go from being so care-free and laughing to being so distraught in seconds. 

Alec nods his head. “I know. It’s just. I thought Andrew was the one you know? I mean, what is it with people and relationships nowadays? All I ever wanted was someone that I could be committed to. Someone to tell them that I love them from dusk until dawn and spoil just because I can. I thought I had finally found that with him”

“I’m with you there. I wanted someone that I could take travelling with me around the world. I wanted to finally settle down and just be happy. You’re such a nice guy Alec. I wouldn’t mind being married to someone like you.” 

Alec chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind being married to someone like you either. That girl Bot-“

“-Dot” He corrected. 

“Right. Dot. She doesn’t know what she is missing. I mean, you’re gorgeous. You’re a great guy who owns his own business, is hardworking and ready to commit.” 

Magnus smiled “Thank you Alexander” 

“Alexander?” Alec questions. 

“Thought I’d try it out. It is your proper name I’m guessing?” 

Alec nods. “It is but I never let anyone call me it. Only my parents did when they were angry with me or wanted to have a serious talk to me.”

Magnus puts a comforting hand on top of Alec’s on the bar “That’s fine. I’ll stick to Alec then.” 

“No….. it’s fine. I don’t mind you calling me Alexander.” 

There is a stagnant pause where both men are staring at each other. They were so close to each other that they could make out every minute detail on the other’s face. Magnus couldn’t help but notice how bright Alec’s green eyes shined from the lights around the bar. The touch of their hands prickled as Alec moved his hand to face upwards to they could intertwine their fingers. 

“I didn’t notice that you were wearing make up before” Alec whispered in their proximity. “I like it. It suits you.” 

That was all it took before a hand weaved its way up to the back of Magnus’s neck and lips were brushing against his. In Magnus’ usual sober state, he would have pushed the man away, blame the alcohol and the fact that they had both been made painfully single a matter of hours ago. But as soon as Alec’s lips touched Magnus’s, he didn’t care. All of the thoughts and feelings of the last two days melted away as a spark in Magnus’s gut erupted and fireworks danced behind his eyes as his lips caressed Alec’s. 

Fuck it. He was on holiday right? They were both on the rebound. There was no reason for this to be a serious thing.

….right?


	2. chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this officially blew up quickly! 84 kudos in a matter of days! 
> 
> You guys are amazing and the amount of support I've had for the first chapter is just incredible! (No pressure now for the rest of the story eh?) 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this and I hope that the rest of the story does not disappoint.

Magnus groans as he rolled over in bed. Why did he have to drink so much? He needs to roll over and sleep some more. He holds a hand over his face, trying to slowly let the light of the room enter his eyes to avoid aggravating the hangover he is very sure that he has right now, but something stops him in his moment of self loathing. Some cold. He slowly opens his eyes and holds his hand up above his face. There, on his fourth finger, is a ring. Magnus was one for wearing multiple rings every day and he knew full well that he was wearing a lot of them last night on his fingers but this one was new. It was a simple silver thick band and Magnus knew he would never wear a ring on that particular finger. He always kept it bare for the proper occasion that he ever got married. He shook his head, bad idea as he winced trying to stop himself from feeling sick, closed his eyes again and thought about the night before. Where did he go last night? Right. He was downstairs in the bar, drinking with a guy - Alec. That his name!- and thought back to what they had talked about. His heart sunk remembering Alec’s reason for being at the bar. Poor guy. I bet he must be feeling awful right now. Currently in his honeymoon suite where he is meant to be with his husband who had left him for another man. At least Magnus didn’t have it as bad as Alec when he started his little pity party. He remembers drinking. A lot of drinking. But after that it became a blur. So how did he end up with someone’s ring on his fourth finger? 

His eyes snap open as he hears a groan next to him. He immediately notices that he is not alone. He looks around the room cautiously and notices that he is not in his room. His clothes are thrown all over the floor and he suddenly realises that he is naked. Fully naked! Oh by the angel Magnus! What did you do? He chastises himself. He hears the shuffling of movement in the bed next to him as panic starts to rise in his chest. What the hell did he do last night? Did he go out on the rebound last night and sleep with someone? Magnus you are a fool! He had been single for a whole of two days and he had already slept with someone else? 

Before he has any more time to contemplate his situation, an arm drags itself over Magnus’s chest and pulls him closer. But it’s not the arm that he notices first. It’s the person’s hand. It’s masculine, quite tanned and currently sporting a very familiar ring on its fourth finger between the first and second knuckle, clearly being too small to fit all of the way down onto the finger properly.

“What the-“ Magnus murmurs to himself before it hits him that it is his grandmother’s engagement ring! The one that he was suppose to propose to Dot with. What the hell is this person doing wearing his ring? 

Suddenly, the hand twitches and he feels the person behind him waking up. He decides to just bite the bullet and find out who he was currently in bed with and rolls over to see none other than Alec, a gorgeously ripped Alec without a shirt on he might add, in the throws of waking up himself. They both stare at each other for a moment before all hell breaks loose. Covers go flying everywhere as both men decide to vacate the bed amidst exclamations of shock, Magnus deciding to hide his modesty with the duvet and Alec deciding to hide himself with a rather large pillow. 

They both stare at each other in shock, heavily panting as they both take in the situation before them. Hangovers completely forgotten. 

“What the- what the hell are you doing in my bed?” Alec asks

“Wait. This is your room?” Magnus asks looking around. This was indeed not his room. This must be the honeymoon suite. 

“Yes! Why are you naked?” 

“Why am I-? Why are you naked?” Magnus holds a hand up trying to placate. “We didn’t……..did we?” 

Alec looks around to try and make sense of everything. “I think….. we may have.” 

“Oh by the angel!” Magnus said, sitting on the edge of the bed, duvet still covering his modesty and his head in his hands. 

“Why are you wearing my ring?” Alec asks after a minute of silence. 

“I could ask you the same question Alexander” If Magnus wasn’t in a state of shock and horror, he would have found Alec’s expression hysterical as he looked with his eyes wide open at his left hand to notice the beautiful single diamond platinum ring just about resting on his finger. 

“Fuuuuck” Alec groaned lowly. “What the hell did we do last night?”

Magnus sighed. “I don’t know. I mean, I remember drinking with you at the bar and after that my memory is a little….fuzzy.” 

Alec pauses for a moment to think holding his head in his hands. “In all honesty I can’t remember either.” 

As Magnus looks along the floor to find his boxers, he notices a bit of paper sitting on the side table. It…. looked like a certificate. Normally he wouldn’t care about a bit of paper on a table but something in the back of mind was pulling him towards that bit of paper. He found his boxers on the floor, put them on and went to inspect it. There sat the answer to all of their questions. 

“Um. Alexander?” Magnus said picking up the piece of paper with shaky hands. He turned to look at Alec, all blood drained from his face, pretty sure that he was about to faint. “I think we got married last night.” 

“What?” Alec shouted, immediately forgetting about the fact that he was naked and raced over to Magnus’s side to see what Magnus was talking about. There in Magnus’s hand was a wedding certificate, both signed in two very sloppy but distinguishable signatures. 

“That’s my signature.” Alec said, pointing out the obvious. 

“And mine.” Magnus responded quietly. They both look at each other in horror. “We’re……”

“Married.” Alec finished. “Oh by the angel. Please tell me this is not real!” Alec runs to the side of the bed and picks out boxers, some jeans and a black t-shirt from the drawers in the room. 

“Well, no offence darling but you are the one that would have seen this sort of certificate before, not me.” Magnus examines the paper. “It looks very real to me.” 

“But who the hell would marry two clearly very drunk strangers and put it on an official document?” Alec shouted, clearly panicking. 

“I don’t know Alec but you really need to calm down. Panicking like this is not going to solve the problem.” 

“Oh really? So you’re not the slightest bit concerned that we, two strangers, got married while extremely drunk and know nothing about the whole thing. This is not Las Vegas! This sort of shit doesn’t happen here!” Alec quipped pacing the room. 

“I know Alec. I know. But there is nothing we can do about it right now. Look. I have a friend of mine who is a lawyer who can fix all of this. In the mean time, I think we need to get dressed and find the person, this..” Magnus read the name of the registrar on the certificate “Victor Aldertree, and find out some answers.” 

Alec nodded. “Agreed”. 

Twenty minutes later, after Magnus had convinced Alec to go with him to his hotel room so he could change into a fresh pair of black skinny jeans and a teal coloured silk shirt, they both headed downstairs and went straight to the reception desk. 

“Good morning Mr Lightwood, Mr Bane. How may I help you?” 

“Good morning” Alec answered “We’re looking for someone that was here last night. I was wondering if he was a guest here at all.” 

“I can check for you, but understandably I can not give you the room number if they are staying here.” 

“No that’s fine.” Magnus answered “Can you please just check for us?” 

“Of course. Name?” The receptionist asked 

“Victor Aldertree” Alec answered

“Ah. Yes of course. Mr Aldertree is staying here. I last saw him walking towards the pool about 15 minutes ago.” 

“Brilliant. Thank you.” Magnus asked and before Alec could protest, started to run towards the pool side, hoping he could find a familiar face in the crowd that would jog his memory from last night.

The poolside on any other day was perfect. Clear blue water in a oval shaped pool was surrounded by stoned flooring with multiple deck chairs and umbrellas to keep the customers in the shade. Magnus would have definitely seen himself being by this pool side if he was not on a mission. He looked around the pool but couldn’t find anyone that he recognised. So he decided to just approach every male that was on his own. After 5 different men, some of who didn’t speak any English, answered that they were not who they were looking for, a suave looking man with thin stubble who was currently sat on one of the deck chairs in blue board shorts and sunglasses spoke out to the pair. 

“I think you are looking for me” The man answered putting a hand in the air. 

“You’re Victor Aldertree?” Alec asked. 

Victor smiled. “Why yes I am, and might I say congratulations on your nuptials” 

“You are the one who married us last night? How could you do that? We were drunk” 

Victor laughed and laid back in his deck chair. “We all were. You two were so adorable, talking about how you two had both been so unlucky in love and thought it would be a good idea to get married to each other, who was I to refuse? I must say that after you two found out that I was ordained you begged me to marry you two. I did protest at first, but after watching Alec’s beautiful proposal to you because I had originally said no, I thought you two were the real deal and were too nervous to go through the whole ordeal of a wedding.” 

“Well you thought wrong” Alec said, Magnus holding him back before he decided to deck the poor man. “I was meant to be getting married to someone else yesterday and Magnus was meant to be proposing to someone else. We are not a couple. We have never been a couple. We only met yesterday!”

Aldertree huffed. “Well. This is a pickle. I’m afraid there is nothing I can do here. That certificate is legally binding. You will have to get an annulment when you get back home. That is, if you two haven’t consummated the marriage yet. If you have then you will need to get a divorce.” 

“Shit” Alec replied turning to walk away from Aldertree, clearly needing to get away from the situation to clear his head. 

“Are you sure there is nothing you can do? You are the one who is ordained. Can’t you just… rip up the marriage certificate or claim it to be fake?” Magnus pleaded. 

Aldertree shook his head. “I’m sorry but in the eyes of the law I can not do that. I will get done for malpractice. Look I am really sorry that this has happened to you. But since you two have no ties to each other, your divorce settlement will be quick and easy.” 

Magnus scowled. “What you did to us was malpractice! I hope for your sake you are right. If not, expect a word from my lawyer.” Magnus immediately left before Aldertree could reply and went to find Alec sitting on a spare deck chair, rubbing his hands through his hair. 

“Are you okay?” Magnus asked, almost grimacing at his own question. He knows it is a silly question to ask but he couldn’t think of another way to start the conversation. 

“Yes. Fucking fantastic.” Alec sarcastically answered. “I got left at the altar by my fiancé for his best friend, I got excessively drunk which I never do, and proposed to and married a complete stranger all in one day. Plus, the guy who married us, just told us that he can not undo it.” 

“Can’t say that we don’t do things by half” Magnus mumbled sitting in the deckchair next to Alec. 

“What the hell are we going to do?” Alec asked. “I’m meant to be here for another week on my honeymoon, but all I want to do is just go home and get this mess sorted for good” 

Magnus nodded. He felt the same way. “You said that you had a friend who is a lawyer?” Alec asked. 

“I do. I’m sure if I give him a ring, he will find a way to sort this out. In the meantime, I think we need to just take some time apart to process everything. Since we are 12 hours ahead of New York, I can call Ragnor when it is an appropriate time for him and I can always find you when I hear an answer back?” 

“You’re from New York?” Alec asks 

“That’s what you got from that?” Magnus chuckled 

“I guess I’d better know a little bit about the man I married.” Alec joked. “But that’s good. I’m from New York too so I guess that is helpful in a lot of ways” 

“True. But in the meantime, I would like to ask that we can swap rings back please? That ring that is graciously perching on your finger is my Grandmother’s engagement ring and no husband of mine is going to wear a ring that doesn’t fit his finger.” Magnus said pulling Alec’s wedding ring off his finger. The second the ring left his finger, he almost felt naked without it. He had gotten used to feeling the cold metal against his finger during the day and he almost didn’t want to let it go. Alec nodded and gently pulled the ring off his finger, both of them swapping rings. 

“It is rather beautiful.” Alec comments 

Magnus nods looking over the ring in his hand. “It’s been passed down for generations and is meant to bring good fortune to the wearer.” 

Alec laughed “Sorry I didn’t mean to laugh. It’s just… we haven’t exactly had the best luck so far.” 

“No. I guess you are right.” He said pocketing the ring and moving one of his favourite rings, a simple silver plated tungsten ring with a small blue gem in the middle, onto his fourth finger. 

“You’re still going to wear something there?” Alec asked. 

“Well I am married. Sham or not, I want to wear something there.” Alec nodded in understanding 

“I don’t wear jewellery. It’s just not my thing.” 

“Well, you don’t have to but…” He said pulling off a plain silver ring he wore on his fourth finger on his right hand “you could wear this if you want” 

Alec took the ring in his hand and tried it on. “I guess there would be no harm in it. Like you said we are married” He placed the ring on his finger, fitting perfectly on his finger. He flexed his hand to check the ring would not fall off and looked straight at Magnus. When their eyes met, something inside of Magnus’s stomach lurched. 

Whether it was the notion that the ring seemed to fit on the man’s hand like it was meant to be there or that this gorgeous man was officially his husband, Magnus knew one thing. 

Part of him didn’t want to let Alexander go.


	3. chapter 3

“Magnus Bane, you are officially a bloody idiot! How could you get yourself into this predicament?” Magnus threw the phone away from his ear as his best friend’s strong English accent shouted at him down the phone. 

“I know, I know. Honestly Ragnor, I have been asking myself that question for way too long already. Is there anything you can do to help us?”

“Well as this Victor Aldertree said, this is a legal document. To make sure we have all of the details I do need to ask, not that I really want to know, did you consummate the marriage?” 

“Yes” Magnus said feeling his face going red. 

“Right okay. In that case, we can not go for an annulment for that reason. I don’t think we can even go through the route of the marriage being voidable because you didn’t properly consent to the marriage since you were not in your right state of mind. I think the only way here is to go through a proper divorce. I’m sorry my old friend. I can set up the papers for the both of you to sign for when you both return.”

“The sooner the better really. I think we both want to go home and get away from here. There aren’t any happy memories for Alexander here as it is.” 

“That is a fair point. What is Alexander’s last name?” 

“It’s-“ Then Magnus pauses because in all honesty he doesn’t know. He doesn’t even know the last name of his damn husband! Oh how low can this humility go? “I don’t know.” 

“Well you’d better find out otherwise I can not get the documents correct.” 

“Hold on. I’ll go to his hotel room and ask him to speak to you. It’ll be quicker that way.” Magnus leaves the room and makes the three floor climb to the honeymoon suite. As he was continuing to talk about random nonsense to Ragnor while making his way to Alexander’s room, he couldn’t help but think about how messed up this situation was. He couldn’t believe that this was how was spending his time away. He should be relaxing, trying to understand where it all went wrong with Dot, rather than running around a hotel trying to find his husband. He knocks on the door and is immediately stunned to find Alexander answering the door in a towel. He must have just come out of the shower. He takes a moment or two to gawk at the amazing specimen standing in front of him. Not only was the man naked except from a towel around his waist, Magnus could clearly see that the guy worked out. He was perfectly toned in all of the right places and had beautiful tattoos of runes dotted around his body, notably the rune that stuck out the most was a gorgeous tattoo placed on the side of his neck that looked like the letter ‘z’ with a line through it. How come it has only taken him until now to notice this and why did he have a sudden urge to kiss it? 

“Magnus?” Alec asks throwing Magnus out of this thoughts. 

Magnus shakes his head. “Sorry. Yes. I have my lawyer on the phone for you to answer a few details. I hope you don’t mind.” 

“No. That’s fine. I’ll quickly get dressed and answer him.” Magnus let himself in, shutting the door behind him, informing Ragnor that Alec will answer his questions in a few minutes. 

“Are you okay Magnus?” His friends asks over the phone while they wait. “You went quiet there for a minute.” 

“Uh. Yeah. Just…admiring the view” 

Ragnor chuckled. “Do you mean the view or _the view _”__

__“Oh don’t be crude. But yes. It’s safe to say that my husband is something to be desired that’s for sure” Magnus answered quietly making sure that Alec couldn’t hear him._ _

__Ragnor laughed “Well I wouldn’t know since I can’t see him but I will take your word for it”_ _

__It was that moment that Alec reappeared in a navy blue t-shirt and jeans that fitted in all of the right places. By the angel how can this man do this to Magnus? He was trying to find every way possible to not like this guy to make this easier on himself but his fashion choices were making it very difficult. Alec took the phone from Magnus and spoke to Ragnor while Magnus sat on a seat that faced the beautiful ocean view. This place was very luxurious and Magnus definitely wanted to come back here eventually, but on different circumstances of course._ _

__A few minutes later Alec returned, the phone call finished, and handed him back his phone. He sat on a seat next to Magnus as he opened a bottle of water that was sitting on the small table between them._ _

__“So I realised while speaking to Ragnor that I didn’t know anything about you. I thought it would be worth you speaking to him rather than me guessing anything.”_ _

__Alec nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate it. He sounds like a nice guy. I just hope that he makes this divorce fair.”_ _

__Magnus looked at Alec stunned. “Why wouldn’t he make it fair?”_ _

__“Well everyone seems to be after my money. It would make sense that your lawyer might try and swindle a deal where you get a settlement payment of some sorts.”_ _

__Magnus scoffed. “Ragnor is not like that. Why are you some millionaire or something?” Magnus wished he could be so lucky._ _

__Alec laughed. “Not as such. Just…well off.”_ _

__“What do you do?” Magnus might as well find out something about his husband._ _

__“I’m an actor.” Alec answers cautiously._ _

__“Anything I might have seen?” Magnus was curious._ _

__“Have you ever heard of a tv show called ‘Doctors ER?”_ _

__Magnus groaned. “I have. Multiple times. My friend Catarina is obsessed with the show. She is a nurse and she liked the medical accuracy of the show but I myself have never seen it.”_ _

__Alec nods slowly. “Well. I may… play one of the main characters.”_ _

__Something dawns on Magnus “What is your last name?”_ _

__“Lightwood.” Then it hits him. Shit this is THE Alec Lightwood? Catarina would not stop talking about this gorgeous actor on the show called Alec Lightwood. Safe to say that Catarina was going to cack her pants when she realises what’s happened between them._ _

__To avoid Alec freaking out, Magnus decides to keep it cool. “Ok. So does that make me Magnus Lightwood-Bane then?”_ _

__“Bane?”_ _

__“My last name.” Magnus clarifies. Alec just nods._ _

__“We never discussed changing names last night did we?” Alec joked._ _

__Magnus laughed. “Hell would I know. Either way, I’m positive that Ragnor will not swindle you for all you have. He is a long term friend of mine and this was an honest mistake. He said he will sort the papers out for when we get back home, once he has made my life a living hell and not letting me live this down.”_ _

__After a moment of silence, Alec’s phone rings in his pocket. He pulls it out and begins to take the conversation, not waiting to leave the room before answering._ _

__“Hello….yes……really? What happened? Shit. Um. I’m currently out of the country but I can get my sister over to investigate. She is on the tenancy agreement as my next of kin. Yes. I will. Thank you for letting me know” He hangs up and slams the phone down on the table. “Shit. This just gets better and better.”_ _

__“What’s wrong?”_ _

__“That was the superintendent for my apartment. Apparently there has been a flood and it is gone into my place. Apparently everywhere is flooded.”_ _

__“Oh Alec. I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?” Magnus asks, meaning every word._ _

__Alec shakes his head. “There’s not much you can do. This gives me more of an excuse to go back home though. But first I’m going to need to find somewhere to stay.”_ _

__“I couldn’t help but overhear that you have a sister. Can you stay with her?”_ _

__Alec shakes his head. “No. She’s currently living in a one bed apartment with her boyfriend and my little brother. My other brother can’t take me either as is living with his girlfriend and has no room so I have no where to go.”_ _

__“Well. If it’s not too much trouble, I do have a spare room in my apartment. You could always stay there until the place gets renovated.” Magnus offers._ _

__Alec looks at Magnus perplexed. “You would do that?”_ _

__Magnus smirked. “What kind of man would I be if I didn’t look after my husband?”_ _

__They carry on talking for the next few hours telling each other about themselves. Anyone looking in would have thought it was a casual first date. They laughed, they shared stories and facts about themselves, all in the small vain of getting to know the person that has been thrust so suddenly into their lives. The conversation was easy between them and the more Magnus hears about Alec, the more he wished that he had met Alec in another timeline. Another dimension. Anywhere else but in the current situation they were in._ _

__It turns out that Alec had visited Pandemonium, Magnus’s club, quite a few times before when his colleagues have forced him out for a few nights after filming particularly upsetting scenes in an effort to cheer him up. Alec joked that he would have been one of the people moping in the corner while Magnus admitted that he was one of the people he would have found in the middle of the dancefloor. In theory they both were like chalk and cheese. Complete opposites. Alec liked the quiet life while Magnus liked the high life. Alec has a big family while Magnus had just himself. The only common denominators they had between them was their love of cats (of which they both owned one each) and that they had both lost their parents. Alec’s to a car accident and Magnus’s Mother to suicide and his Father to cancer._ _

__They had both agreed that it was best that they left the island as soon as possible, so they both booked themselves on the same flight home for the next morning, giving them both time to pack and enjoy one final night in solitude. They both swapped numbers to keep in touch and agreed to meet up again when Ragnor had the papers sorted for them to sign._ _

__———_ _

__

__Magnus was so happy to be back home and back in New York. All he wanted to do was get himself settled and have a nice long bath and glass of wine. But as soon as he opened the doors of his penthouse apartment, he looked around and his stomach dropped. Suddenly it all became so real. The apartment looked empty. A clear divide of 50% of the apartment’s possessions were gone. Dot had actually done it. She has officially moved out. She was gone. Magnus sat for a while in the living room looking over the clear dust marks of where Dot’s possessions used to be. Photo frames were missing off the wall, awards that Dot had won for her work in herbalism were missing on the mantel piece, and even after inspecting his bedroom, one half of the bedroom was missing, wardrobes, shelves and drawers empty. He knew he needed time to process but he couldn’t. Alec was making his way over in about two hours time with whatever he could salvage from his drenched apartment and Magnus needed to make sure that the guest room was ready for his arrival. After changing the sheets, opening the window and adding a few towels and spare toiletries onto the bed, Magnus felt ready to welcome Alec and whatever he carried with him. Alec reassured him that he would not be there for long, but they both knew that it could take a long time depending on how well the superintendent was on getting things fixed._ _

__Magnus managed to get his long relaxing bath before there was a knock on the door. He made his way over to the door, the lingering smell and warmth from his bath leaving him in a good mood, and opened the door to find not just Alexander standing at the door, but two other people as well. One woman and one man. But Magnus ignored them for now, expecting that introductions would be given when the time was right._ _

__“Alexander. Please do come in” He said as he opened the door and allowed the three people to come in with multiple bags. “Your room is just down the hall.” He pointed to the small guest room with the door opened and the man and woman made their way into the room to drop off Alec’s things._ _

__“I’m so sorry. My siblings insisted on coming once I had filled them in on our…..situation.” Ah! So they must be Isabelle and either Jace or Max that Alec had told him about._ _

__Magnus smiled “It’s okay. I understand. I wouldn’t want to leave my brother with some random stranger for a few weeks without knowing who they are first.”_ _

__The pair arrive back into the hallway to still see Magnus and Alec talking. Alec jumped when he realised he had not introduced them. “I’m sorry. Magnus this is my sister Isabelle, although she prefers Izzy.” He said pointing to Isabelle. Magnus smiled and nodded at her. He could tell that good genes ran in the family. She is gorgeous. Her pale skin and jet black hair radiated against deep red lipstick matching her deep red jumpsuit. “And this is Jace” Magnus nodded again towards Jace a little bewildered. Jace looked nothing like Alec or Isabelle. He was blonde for a starters but he was more built and shorter than them. But who was he to judge. Maybe Jace was a half brother?_ _

__“Nice to meet you both. If that is all of Alexander’s stuff, would you both like to stay for dinner?” He aimed the question at Jace and Isabelle._ _

__“Alexander?” Jace asked looking at Alec bewildered. Alec just shakes his head and puts his hand up in a stopping motion which is enough for the conversation to stop right there._ _

__“We would love to. If that is okay with Alec” Isabelle said looking at Alec._ _

__“If it’s not too much trouble” Alec said in answer. Magnus smiled. “Great! I have enough food in the fridge to whip us up a nice Italian meal. Oh Alexander” Magnus said looking at Alec “Didn’t you mention that you have a cat?”_ _

__Alec looked shocked at the question. “Uh yeah. But I figured since you have yours here then it might be a bit of a territory issue.”_ _

__Magnus waves his hand in dismissal. “That’s not a problem. Chairman Meow is used to sharing the house with the neighbours cats. I let them come and go as they please.”_ _

__Alec smiled. “Okay. Well then I’ll make sure to pick him up tomorrow. Thank you”_ _

__“There’s no need to thank me. You needed a place to go, I have a spare room it’s only natural to help someone out when they need it.”_ _

__“That’s very nice of you Magnus” Isabelle said_ _

__“Like I said to Alec. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t look after my husband” The air in the room suddenly went palpable. Magnus had mentioned the big elephant in the room that the others were clearly trying to avoid. He quickly turned around and made his way to kitchen for something to do. “I’ll get started on that dinner.”_ _

__Despite Magnus’s slip up earlier, the evening was pleasant. He got to know Alec’s sibling better. Izzy told Magnus about how she made jewellery that specialised in rare stones, Magnus definitely pocketed that information for later for his own jewellery shopping habit, and Jace, who turned out to be Alec and Izzy’s adopted brother, told Magnus that he owned his own gym and was a fitness instructor. Magnus smiled. Success definitely ran in the family then. Their stern demeanour that surrounded them when they first entered the flat seemed to diminish as the night progressed. Magnus only hoped that they were coming around to the idea that Magnus was not in fact a serial killer or was after Alec’s money. They did however have a laugh at the fact that Magnus had no idea who Alec was when they met since ‘Doctor’s ER’ was quite a popular show in the States._ _

__A few hours later, after Izzy and Jace had gone home for the night, Alec was washing up the plates from dinner while Magnus took a phone call in the other room. Despite his current situation, he felt quite calm. Magnus had made everything seem so simple telling him that he could stay with him while his flat was being renovated. He honestly didn’t know what he would have done if Magnus was not in the picture. He had already had so much bad luck recently that Alec was almost waiting for the other shoe to drop. He stared at the ring that sat on his marriage finger. He had surprisingly got used to wearing it quickly. It was a simple ring but it stood for so much and a pang hit his heart at the idea that this was going to be over soon. Whether it was excitement or dread, he wasn’t sure._ _

__Magnus appeared momentarily, breaking Alec away from his thoughts._ _

__“That was Ragnor. He said that the papers are ready and we can go down in the morning to sign them._ _

__Alec smiles and nods. “Great.”_ _

__Magnus sighed “Okay. With that all sorted, I’m going to go to bed. There is everything you need in your room so just make yourself at home.”_ _

__Alec smiled and wished Magnus good night. Alec decided to sit at the coffee bar for a few minutes after Magnus retired to bed. He couldn’t help but stare and play with the ring around his finger. He should feel relieved. This is all going to be over soon. He can then finally sort his life out, move on from Andrew and start fresh. Maybe move to another part of the city so there were no memories to bombard him. But looking around the flat his gaze focused on the closed bedroom door with the kind and generous sleeping man behind it made him wonder._ _

__If things had been different……._ _


	4. chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all!!
> 
> Thank you for your patience with these uploads. I've just finished writing and uploading another story so now I can focus on this one. I'm afraid to say that I am getting a little bit of writers block on this story for now so the uploads will not be as frequent as I was originally hoping. I know where I want to go with this story but it is going to take some time to get there. 
> 
> hope you enjoy chapter 4

Alec and Magnus arrive outside the office of Mr Ragnor Fell early in the morning. They had decided that it would be easier just to get this over and done with and not put it off any longer. The office was small but carefully decorated. There was a desk at the back of the room where Ragnor sat staring at his computer with two black chairs on the other side facing Ragnor. Small paintings surrounded the walls of the English countryside and the beach which Magnus knew Ragnor kept up because they reminded Ragnor of his home back in England. The room had a calming atmosphere which radiated through Alec and Magnus as they stepped into the room.

“Good morning gentlemen.” Ragnor greeted. Magnus noted that he looks rather downplayed today with his plain navy suit. Normally, Ragnor would be seen in what Magnus would describe as old style gothic. He would always secretly joke that Ragnor was really a hundred year old warlock from the clothing that he wore and the ‘old-timer’ demeanour he emanated. 

“Ragnor” Magnus smiled as he took his seat. “Always good to see you.”

“Yes. Shame it’s on different circumstances. Mr Lightwood. Please take a seat” Ragnor gestured as Alec sat down next to Magnus. 

For the next hour, the terms of the divorce were discussed. Ragnor had made this as straight forward as possible since there was no splitting of the assets between them and despite Alec temporarily living with Magnus, they had separate addresses. 

“Right. If you just sign on the dotted lines by your names please” Ragnor handed out two identical documents for them both to sign, which they did and handed back to Ragnor. “Great. Now in four to six months time this will all be official.” 

“Four months!” Magnus exclaimed. 

Ragnor nodded. “Yes. That’s how long it takes for it all to be processed properly.” 

“But considering the circumstances, can’t you speed the process up a bit?” 

Ragnor shook his head. “I’m sorry old friend. This is how long it takes. There is nothing I can do to make it go any faster. But I’m afraid you would have to adhere to your marriage vows if you don’t want this to take any longer than it should.” 

Alec sighed. “Well I guess there is nothing we can do about it either.” 

Ragnor shook his head again. “I’m sorry Mr Lightwood there isn’t. For all intense and purposes you two will still be legally married for four more months.” 

Magnus stilled himself and put on a fake smile. “Well at least the hard bit is done right? I think we should go. We don’t want to waste your time anymore.” They shake Ragnor’s hand as they both leave in silence. Magnus played with the ring on his marriage finger all the way home. Four more months and this will all be over. 

For the rest of the afternoon, both Magnus and Alec enjoy each other’s company in pleasant quiteness, neither really wanting to broach the elephant in the room. 

A knock on the door broke the silence as Magnus got up from his seat in the living room to answer the door. He smiled as he saw one of his best friends at the door. 

“Catarina. Nice to see you. Come in” He says opening the door wider for Catarina to come in. It looked like she had just returned from her shift at the hospital. “How was work?”

“It was fine. One of the children from the ward was released today so we had a little going away party for him.” 

“Oh the fun of being a paediatrics nurse eh?” 

Catarina smiles. “Seeing them go home always tugs at my heart since I will miss them but I know it’s for the best.” She joins Magnus back on the sofa while Magnus puts away the book he was reading. “So. A little bird may have told me some very interesting news today.” 

Magnus smirked. “Would that someone be your husband by any chance?” 

“Okay. Yes. Ragnor did tell me everything but I want to hear it all from you. Is it true what happened?”

Magnus smiled at Catarina’s enthusiasm as he looked down at his ring that he had been playing with all day. “Yes it is true. Dot broke up with me, I went on holiday to get away from it all and came back married.” 

“Is it really true that you got married to Alexander Lightwood?” Catarina’s eyes beamed. 

Magnus laughed. “Yes it is true. He had just been dumped by his fiancé at the altar and I met him at the bar. I had no idea who he was but we ended up drinking together and….you know the rest.” 

Catarina laughed in disbelief. “I can’t believe it Alec Lightwood! Matt from Doctors ER! This is insane!” 

“Believe me it was a shock for me too when I found out who he was.” 

“So it’s all official? Your divorce?” 

Magnus nods. “It is. But it will take another four to six months for it all to become final. Ragnor sorted the paperwork this morning.” 

The conversation halts as they hear a door open from down the corridor. Catarina looks to Magnus questioningly which his eyes widens. Shit she didn’t know that he was living here! Alec walks into the living room and catches Magnus’ eyes before settling on Catarina who looked like she had gone into shock. If this was a different situation then Magnus would have laughed. 

“Hello.” Alec says nodding to Catarina. 

“Oh. Alexander. This is my friend Catarina that I’ve mentioned before. Catarina, I believe you know Alexander.” 

“Oh. Nice to meet you.” Alec says walking over to Catarina to shake her hand. 

“Oh my God. It’s actually you.” She coughs slightly to collect herself. “I’m sorry. I’m such a big fan of Doctors ER. I just came over to see how Magnus was. I didn’t realise that you would be here.” 

Alec smiled, clearly used to this kind of reaction. “It’s okay. My apartment flooded so Magnus has given me his spare room until the works are completed.” 

Catarina turns to look at Magnus. “That’s so thoughtful of you” 

“Well I couldn’t let him sleep on the streets now could I?” Magnus dismisses. 

“Anyway. I’m just going to go for a shower.” Alec says to move away from the conversation “It was nice to meet you Catarina.” 

As soon as Alec leaves the room, Catarina slaps Magnus hard on the thigh mouthing ‘Oh my God”. “Hey!” 

“You didn’t tell me that he was living with you!” 

Magnus shrugged. “What was I meant to say? That I married a guy while drunk and invited him to live with me since he had nowhere else to go?” 

“Yes! That is vital information Magnus!” 

“How so?” 

“Because this is your husband. Who is famous! This is a big deal” 

“So what? He’s just another guy” 

“Another HOT guy who just happens to be followed by paparazzi where ever he goes? You need to be careful Magnus. If word gets out about your situation this will not end well for you.” 

Magnus laughs. “Thanks for the concern but I’m sure I will be fine.” 

“I hope so” Catarina said, digging her hand into her bag. “I found this the other day. I thought you and Alec should know about it.” She pulls out a magazine and opens it to the right page. A large picture of Alexander is displayed walking down a random street before Magnus as he read the large title. 

“WEDDING OF THE CENTURY DISASTER!” 

Oh no. This can not be right. He read through the article which gives the rundown on how Andrew left Alec at the altar. Turns out the magazine in question was actually at the wedding and was meant to be there as an exclusive release!

“This isn’t good. I wonder if Alexander knows about this?” Magnus asks

“Considering everything that has been happening to him right now, I have a feeling that he doesn’t. He should have a publicist who would have warned him about this article coming out anyway. To be honest, considering he is a global superstar, he is probably used to his face being in random trashy magazines all of the time.” 

“Do you think I should be worried about paps coming here?” Magnus ask worriedly 

“Only if they find out that Alec is living here I guess. Other than that I would not be worried.” Magnus nods. “Listen. I’m sorry to come in here and drop this bombshell on you. I promise I only popped around to make sure that you were okay and now that I know you are, I am going to go home. I haven’t been to bed yet and I’m due in the hospital again tonight.” Catarina explains. 

Magnus laughs. “You work too much Catarina.” 

Catarina smiles. “But I love my job so it’s worth it. Anyway. Are you still happy to have Madzie over the weekend? With everything that’s going on, I understand if you can’t.” 

Magnus stills. Shit he completely forgot he had promised Catarina and Ragnor that they would look after Madzie over the weekend. He loved having his niece over to play but wiould Alexander be okay with it?

“It’s okay. I promised you that I would and I intend to keep that promise. I will make sure that Alexander knows beforehand in case he wants to sleep somewhere else for the night.” 

“Am I being kicked out for the night?” Alec chuckles from behind them, returning to the living room in a pair of grey joggers and a navy hoodie. 

“Oh no, not at all. I was going to talk to you about this. I promise Catarina that I would look after her daughter at the weekend. Would that be okay with you? She normally sleeps in your room but she can have a sleep over in my room for the night” Magnus explains, gesturing between Catarina and Alec which explaining. 

Alec beams. “That sound great. I don’t want to deter any plans you have made just because I’m here. I can always let her have my bed if that makes her comfortable.” 

Magnus dismisses Alec with a hand wave. “Nonsense. I’m sure she would like a sleep over in Uncle Magnus’ bed. She always ends up in my bed with me at some time in the night anyway.” 

Catarina chuckles. “You are too soft on her Magnus.” 

Magnus beams. “I’m her Uncle Magnus so I get to spoil her as I please.” 

With all of the details finalised between Magnus and Catarina, Catarina leaves, leaving Alec and Magnus still sitting on the adjoining sofas. The room falls quiet for a moment before Alec leans over and picks up the magazine, staring at it wide-eyed. Magnus notices and stills. 

“Catarina brought this over to show me. She wasn’t sure if you knew about it already.” Magnus softly explains. Alec lets out a heavy sigh. 

“I guess it was a matter of time before it came out to the press. Especially this was the one that was hired by my publicist for the wedding.” Alec answers solemnly 

“Are you okay?” Magnus asks after a minute or two as Alec reads over the article. 

He slams the magazine down on the sofa next to him and stands up. “Well it’s out there now, nothing I can do about it. At least they didn’t add the whole me meeting you and getting married thing I guess.” 

Magnus awkwardly scoffs. “Yeah I guess so.” 

Alec awkwardly shuffles on the spot. “Magnus. If this is too much for you, I can find somewhere else to stay. Now that this has been leaked, I have no idea how this is going to play out. I don’t want you being followed because of my drama.” 

Magnus shakes his head. “It’s fine. It’s not like they know you are here for now. Anyway you’re only here for a short while so you never know it might die down at some point. Either way, you're going through enough as it is so I want to be there for you in any way that I can.”

Alec smiles. “Thank you Magnus. For everything. I think if it wasn’t for you, I would be in some random hotel now just wondering how I am going to sort my life out again.” 

“It’s my pleasure Alexander.” Magnus answers meaning every word.


	5. chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter just flew out of my head and onto the page. I love writing Alec and Maia as friends. I really wish that they had covered this more on the show. I think they would have been amazing friends.

The rest of the week flies by. Alec had decided to return to work earlier than he had expected but the producers on his show were happy to have him back for meetings before filming today. He was currently on set with his best friend Maia who played his love interest Ally on the show. Alec never minded the characters that he played despite being an ambassador of the LGBTQ community for actors. As he argued it when he was asked if he minded playing a straight person it was like make belief and he enjoyed portraying some else’s story. He was in his doctors costume standing in a fake office. Alec’s character Matt is the head of surgery and was currently having a private affair with his co-worker Ally. Today was the day that their affair was going to be discovered by her ex Raj. 

Alec paced the room running through his lines and imagining in his head how he was going to play out the scene. 

Maia ran onto the set interrupting Alec’s thoughts. “Hey stranger. How are you?” She runs up to hug Alec before she goes to find her mark on the floor for the scene. 

“Ive been better” Alec jokes shrugging his shoulders. 

Maia scoffs. “I bet.” 

Alec smiles. “I guess you’ve seen the article by now.” 

Maia nods and gives him a sympathetic look. “I have and I’m so sorry Alec. What Andrew did to you was horrible and a really shitty move. I can’t believe he could do something like that.” 

Alec looked away, his heart sinking. “Yeah. Me too.” 

“For what it’s worth I was never a big fan of the guy. He always seemed to have a certain quality to him that I couldn’t put my finger on.” 

Alec nodded. “While I stayed on Targatay to get my head clear, he left straight away and moved all of his stuff out of the apartment. Now the media has hold of this story I have no idea how things are going to play out. I mean, when I confronted Andrew after he stood me up, all he could do what tell me how sorry he was. Apparently he had been slowly moving his stuff out of the apartment for weeks into Lorenzo’s place but he was still conflicted because he claimed he loved me but was not in love with me anymore. Apparently it finally hit him that he didn’t want to be with me on the morning of the wedding because in his own words ‘I thought we could be happy together but on the morning of the wedding I realised that I was picturing someone else at the end of the aisle when it should have been you’”

“Ouch. That’s harsh.” 

Alec scoffed. “Tell me about it. But what I don’t understand is why wait until the morning of the wedding? If he didn’t want to be with me and he was moving his stuff out into Lorenzo’s place, why didn’t he call it off sooner? Why didn’t he tell me that he was feeling this way and we would have either tried to make it work or we would have split long before it got this far. At least then he wouldn’t have embarrassed me in front of everyone we know and a member of the paparazzi that had been hired for the day.” 

“I can’t imagine how you must be feeling right now Alec. I just hope that he hasn’t ruined the idea of love for you.” Maia was always one to listen and rarely to comment her own opinions and Alec loved her for that. “We could always find out where he is right now and kick his ass?” 

Alec laughed. “As much as it would probably make me feel better, it still won’t change anything. But thank you for the support.” 

“Well. I guess now that you are a single man again, you are free to be who you want to be. Fuck what the media says. I’m not saying go out and get with the next guy you meet but, you’ve been with Andrew for so long. You need to find out who you are again without anyone attached to you.” 

Alec smiled. “Actually. There is something else that happened. Can you keep a secret?” Maia’s eyes beamed. “Lay it on me Lightwood” 

Alec shook his head. “Not here. Too quiet and anyone can eavesdrop at any minute.” 

Maia thought for a moment. “How about a night out? We can always go to that club again that we go to?” 

Alec knew she meant Pandemonium. Magnus’s club. Alec felt conflicted for a minute or two. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to go to the club that his sort of ex-husband ran but in that moment in time, Alec felt like he could use a drink at the end of this shoot and if Magnus could set them up with a VIP area, he could properly talk to Maia without being disturbed. He needed someone to talk to and he was limited on people he could trust, but the woman that stood in front of him was his best friend. He could never keep a secret from her for long. 

Alec smiled. “Sounds like a great idea. I may know a way that we can get a VIP booth for the night.” 

“Ooh. Someone has connections.” Maia joked playfully. 

“You have no idea.” Alec answered dryly.

“Alright people! Places, marker and action!” The director called from behind them both, halting their conversation and placing Alec into the mindset of his character. At least his character was getting better luck in love than he was. 

After a quick conversation with Magnus after wrapping for the day, Alec and Maia got changed and made their way into the club. As promised Magnus had hooked them up with a VIP booth where they would not be disturbed. Alec explained everything to Magnus and he understood the need to talk to someone other than this family about everything. So they made their way to the back of the club and sat down on the black rounded leather sofas. After the first few drinks, Alec felt his worries melt away. He was not a heavy drinker but he loved the buzz alcohol gave him when he needed it. 

“So go on then Lightwood, lay it on me. What is this big secret?” Maia asked. Alec relayed the story of what happened in Targatey and what has followed since, Maia’s eyes getting bigger every time he mentioned an important detail. “Holy shit Alec! No wonder you’ve been stressed lately. Wow. And the guy owns this club?” Alec nods. “Well that explains the VIP booth” Maia laughs. “So you are still married?”

Alec nods taking a sip of his beer. “Technically yes. The divorce became final earlier this week but we are still married for a few more months while it is all still going through.” 

“I still can’t believe you got married on your wedding night to a different guy. I never knew you had it in you!” 

Alec laughed. “Well it wasn’t exactly my plan for the night I can assure you.” 

“So is the lucky guy here? Is he hot?” 

“Maia!” Alec chastised. 

“What? I want to know what your hubby looks like sue me” Maia defended shrugging her shoulders.

“Is everything alright here?” They hear a male voice interrupting their conversation. They both look up to see Magnus staring at them smiling. 

“Magnus!” Alec answers shocked. He couldn’t help but take a look at what Magnus was wearing. He had donned black pinstripe trousers with a burgundy sheer top and multiple necklaces of different lengths. Smart but still casual enough for a club and Alec had to dampen the feeling that jolted in his chest when he noticed the top was only done up half way to show off the top of his abs. When Alec met his eyes, he couldn’t help but suddenly feel like they were lost in their own world for a minute before Magnus moved away. 

“Sorry. I guessed you were in the middle of an important conversation here but as manager, it’s part of the VIP policy that I come and make sure that you are being taken care of properly and that no one is bothering you……other than me of course” 

“Wait” Maia says holding up a finger gesturing to symbolise ‘one minute’ “You’re the manager?” 

Magnus smiles “Indeed I am.” 

Maia dons a wide grin while standing up to shake his hand. “I’m Maia. It is a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Alec groaned. He could tell she was going to have a lot of fun with this bit of information. 

“Oh have you?” Magnus questions looking at Alec who gives him a dismissive expression. 

“Indeed. All good things I promise you.” Maia answers chuckling. “Thank you for getting us this booth at such short notice.”

Magnus nods. “It’s my pleasure. It’s always nice to have such well mannered VIP’s at my club. How about unlimited drinks tonight, on the house”

Alec shook his head “Magnus, you don’t have to-“

Maia interjected. “That would be wonderful. Thank you so much!” 

“Anytime. I’ll leave you to your evening.” With that Magnus winks at Alec with a smile and walks away to talk to people at another VIP booth while Maia sits back down next to Alec. 

“He’s cute” She comments taking a sip of her drink. 

“Maia!” Alec defended.

“No I am serious. He is hot!”

“Yeah and also my ex-husband” 

“Oh come on Alec. That’s only temporary. Did you see the way he looked at you?” 

“Like what?” Alec asked tried for nonchalant 

“Like I didn’t even exist in the room next to you.” 

Alec shook his head. “We’re just friends” 

Maia rolled her eyes “Right. So friends wouldn’t just book a VIP booth for another friend and offer them free drinks for the night at their expense.” 

“I’m sure he offers free drinks to people all the time.” 

Maia shook her head. “You and I both know that is not true. They would double the amount they normally charge since they think they can afford it. 

Alec shook his head dismissively. “I’m sure Magnus is not like that.” 

Maia shrugged. “Think what you like dude. I officially ship the two together and there is nothing you can do about it. Team Malec all the way!” 

Alec choked on his sip of drink. “I’m sorry what?” 

“Malec! Magnus and Alec. Pretty clever don’t you think?” 

“You are incorrigible.” 

Maia smiled sweetly at him. “But thats why you love me. Come on . Drink up. There are free drinks tonight and I am getting my money’s worth!”


	6. chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of back story and some contemplation...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's everyone liking this story so far? Are there any developments you want to see? (except Malec because we all know what's going to happen there lol)

The next day arrives and despite having a stinker of a hangover after last night, Alec is in good spirits. He sat at the breakfast bar happily sipping on a coffee, closing his eyes savouring the bitter taste that was slowly waking him up. He had a long day of shooting today so he knew he needed to wake up as much as possible. A door opening was brought to Alec’s attention as Magnus walked into the kitchen to pour himself his own cup of coffee. 

“Good morning” Alec said greeting Magnus with a smile. 

“Good morning Alexander. Did you have a good night then last night?” Magnus asked joining Alec at the breakfast bar. 

“I did. Thank you again for getting us that booth on such short notice. It was nice to talk to someone about…this” Alec answered gesturing between them.

Magnus smiled. “I’m glad. I guess it’s a lot to wrap your head around.”

Alec nodded. “Maia likes you”

Magnus laughed. “She only likes me because I gave her free drinks last night, although I could probably say she will not like me this morning for it though”

Alec laughed. “Self inflicted. So no sympathy from me.”

Magnus gasped throwing Alec a mock serious look making him laugh. “Ooh. Harsh.” 

Alec shrugged pointing at Magnus. “You offered her free drinks. She is the one who took you up on it so in actuality I’m blaming you if she doesn’t do well today” 

Magnus changed his expression to mocked shock, placing a hand on his chest. “Alexander. You wound me. I only did what a good host would do.” Alec laughed as he finished off his coffee and walked to the sink to wash it up. “Listen Alec. Just a reminder, I have Madzie staying tonight. Is that still okay?” 

Alec nodded. “Yes absolutely. I’m looking forward to meeting her. I will be late home, more than likely after dinner time so hopefully I’ll meet her before she goes to bed.” 

Magnus smiled. “I’m sure you will. She already knows about you and is excited to see you too. We’re going to having a Disney movie marathon anyway so she will more than likely be awake when you get back.” 

Alec laughed. “You do spoil her.” 

Magnus shrugged smirking “Well I don’t have children of my own and my cat doesn’t really count, so who else am I going to spoil.” 

Alec nodded smiling heading towards the door. “Anyway. I need to get going. I’ll see you tonight.” 

“I’ll save you some dinner. Go save some some lives.” 

Considering he knew it was going to be a long day, for Alec it flew by quickly. He told a very hungover Maia about meeting Madzie tonight and her sleeping over which got her cooing all day along about him being ‘Uncle Alec’. Alec couldn’t help smiling at that idea. He had always loved children so he was sure that spending the weekend with Madzie was going to be fun. When he arrived home late in the evening, Alec was met with the most heartwarming sight. The room was dimly lit with Magnus’s sofa pulled out into a sofa bed and a sleeping Magnus with a small child asleep next to him who Alec deduced as Madzie. She looked like she could be no more than four years old and looked adorable in her pink pyjamas cuddled up to Magnus with a blanket over her to keep her warm. Alec noticed that the TV was still playing Alec’s favourite Disney movie The Lion King on it so he quietly moved to turn the TV off and decided it would be a good idea to wake Magnus up to put Madzie properly to bed. Alec quietly sat down on the sofa and took a moment to take in the scene before him. His heart warmed at the sweet sight. He could tell that Madzie really did love Magnus and visa versa from the way she was cuddled next to him with Magnus’s protective arm over her. Alec couldn’t help but notice how much younger and at peace Magnus looked when he was asleep, his soft snores filling the room. Alec also couldn’t help but notice how good looking Magnus was in his simple shirt and soft make up. Alec toyed for a moment whether he should wake Magnus up but in the end practicality won. 

He placed a hand on Magnus’s shoulder. “Magnus” He whispered as to not wake up Madzie. After a few tries and eventually shaking Magnus’s shoulder a little, Magnus’s eyelids fluttered as he slowly woke up to see Alec staring at him. Alec couldn't help but think that Magnus looked cute with his not-quite-awake demeanor. Magnus looked down at Madzie, realising that she was asleep and moved away from her as gently as he could so she could continue sleeping. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to wake you but I figured you would want her to sleep on your bed rather than the sofa.” Magnus smiled at Alec as he moved his hand away from Magnus’s shoulder so Magnus could stretch. 

Magnus breathed in heavily. “It’s okay. Thank you for waking me. She had me running around the apartment all afternoon.” As Magnus went to get up off the sofa to move Madzie, Alec halted him. 

“It’s okay. I got it. I’ll put her in your bed.” He said carefully lifting the little girl into his arms. 

“Thank you Alexander” Magnus answered smiling. Within a few minutes, Alec had successfully placed Madzie into Magnus’s bed, not before taking a small look around the elegant bedroom. It was dressed in soft rich coloured fabrics mixed with multiple pictures and trinkets dotted around the room, giving off a warm vibe. It screamed Magnus every where he looked. As Alec returned to the living room, Magnus greeted Alec with a cup of coffee. 

“I thought you may want this after your long day.” He said giving Alec the cup and settling on the now returned to normal sofa. 

“Thank you. Madzie seems really sweet. It’s a shame I missed her when I came home” He said sitting on the other sofa. 

Magnus beamed at the thought of Alec thinking this was his home. “I wouldn’t worry. She knows you live here for now. She really wanted to stay awake so she could see you but I guess running me ragged around the apartment all day foiled her plan.” 

Alec laughed. “Well I’m sure I’ll get to know her more tomorrow.” There was a comfortable silence that filled the room for a while as the men both drank their coffees, thoughts of their days running through their heads. “You know.” Alec said breaking the silence. “Andrew never wanted children. He always said that it would be too much for the pair of us, especially when I have to be away all the time for filming.” 

Magnus could sense the regret in Alec’s voice. “But did you?” 

“I did…. I still do.” Alec shook his head as he placed his coffee mug down on the table in front of him. “It was always an argument between us that never got resolved- like that matters now anyway. I love children and I was hoping to change Andrew’s mind one day once we were married since we would be more stable as a couple. I loved the thought of one day adopting a child but since I’m now back to square one, I will have to just live with the idea of being fun Uncle Alec for a while.” 

Magnus smiled sadly at Alec. “You will one day and I’m sure you will make an amazing Father. I myself would love to have children and I was hoping that I would have been able to with Dot but, I guess that ship has sailed as well.” 

“Does Madzie know about you and Dot?” Alec asked carefully, knowing it was still a sore subject for Magnus. 

Magnus nods. “She does. I had to explain to her that Uncle Magnus and Auntie Dot are no longer together and she is now living somewhere else.” Magnus sighed heavily “That was a meltdown I don’t want to see again. It tore my heart in two.” 

“Poor Madzie. I guess when you are her age, you thinks that when people are together, they stay together.” 

“I guess so. She’s so innocent. She knew that I was going to ask Dot to marry me as well which probably made her think that we were going to be together forever.” 

Alec nods thinking carefully over his next question. “Have you spoken to Dot since you’ve been back?” 

Magnus shakes his head. “No. Have you spoken to Andrew?” 

Alec shakes his head. “I haven’t. I don’t think I am ready for that yet. Besides I doubt he wants anything to do with me anymore. He moved all of his stuff out of the apartment before it flooded so there is nothing really for him to come back for.” 

“I guess. They say a clean break is supposed to be easier right?” 

Alec scoffed playing with his wedding ring, a nervous tick that he had recently developed. “I wouldn’t say I agree with you on that. I guess for me I never quite got closure before he left out of my life for good, despite being able to talk to him after he stood me up. He was my first ever boyfriend and he has already moved on with someone else but I am not sure that I am ready for that yet”

“It will take some time Alexander but you will. One day you are going to make someone the happiest man of their life. Now you can spend time getting to be just you again. You don’t need a man to define you” 

Alec chuckled. “You sound just like Maia.” 

Magnus grinned. “Maia is a very smart woman.... Look. It’s getting late. I’m going to go to bed. I promised Madzie that I would take her to the park tomorrow if you’re up for it.”

Alec smiled. “That sounds like a plan.” 

“Wonderful. I’ll see you in the morning. Good night Alexander” With a soft smile, Magnus got up and left Alec sitting on the sofa watching Magnus walk into his room. 

Alec smiled as he lent back in his chair. Considering everything right now, Alec was in a good place. He had a roof over his head, he still had a job and a room mate who was willing to help him out in any way he could. He felt incredibly lucky. Magnus was nothing like Andrew. Andrew would always be working and barely went out with Alec anywhere for fears of being caught by the paps. Magnus did not seem to share that same concern or he hadn’t even thought of it yet. Andrew was not a family man and would rarely come around for family game nights but Alec would happily bet that Magnus would love the idea from what he could gather from how he talked about Madzie and his friends. The main difference about Magnus was that he loved children. Andrew never liked children and whenever Alec brought it up, the conversation would be changed immediately. Andrew didn’t even like looking after Alec’s youngest brother Max when he was a toddler when they first got together. A thought rang through Alec’s head shocking him. 

_How did I let our relationship go on for so long when we were clearly polar opposites? I have more in common with Magnus than I ever did with Andrew. Maybe Magnus was the man I should have met instead of Andrew? _Alec shook his head, squashing the thought. He and Andrew had only just broken up. He felt guilty for even thinking about another man like that. He was clearly still exhausted after such a long day today and was still swept up in the emotions of his current love affair storyline for work. He was sure that Magnus didn’t even think of him in that way. With that Alec made a decision. He was not going to think of Magnus like that anymore. Yes the man had saved him from being homeless but this was no fairytale. Magnus was not some knight in shining armour for him to fall in love with instantly like any old-style Disney princess would. He is Alexander Gideon Lightwood. He is newly single, at the height of his career and did not need a man to complete him.__

__So Alec went to bed that night, resolute and trying his hardest to ignore the cold emptiness on the other side of the bed._ _


	7. chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for not uploading sooner. Unfortunately I am having really bad writers block with this story. I know where I want to go with the story, but I will need some time to write the next few chapters so hopefully my writers block will end. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy chapter 7! (Also apologies if you were hoping for moments with Madzie Alec and Magnus's weekend together. I didn't want to dedicate a whole chapter on it as it would not help with the progression of the story so I've added little memories in instead.)

“Alexander, are you sure that it is okay that I come with you tonight?” Magnus asks as they walk down a side street in the middle of the city. 

“Of course. Izzy and Jace really like you. Izzy even asked me if you were coming tonight or not.” Alec answered smiling to Magnus. 

It had been a week since Madzie had stayed at the apartment. The week had been long and arduous so Izzy had rung Alec suggesting a games night as a chance to wind down. Normally game night would have been at Alec’s apartment but since Alec’s apartment was still damaged from the flood, Izzy had suggested everyone come to her place instead. Izzy and Simon’s apartment was only 30 minutes away so they had decided to walk it. Not before stopping a little coffee shop by Magnus’ apartment to pick up a coffee and some treats for everyone. 

“I appreciate it. I really do. I don’t get to see my friends often so it’s nice to just get out of the house and see other people.” Magnus commented. Alec had given Magnus the run down on all of his family while they were walking to the apartment. Magnus had already met Izzy and Jace from when Alec moved in but he had not met their respective other halves yet. Alec promised Magnus that he would get along with Clary, Jace’s girlfriend, who is an artist and Simon, Izzy’s boyfriend, who is a musician. Alec did warn Magnus however not to discuss Star Wars with Simon in the room otherwise they will be there all night since Simon was such a big fan of the franchise.

As they arrived at the front door of the apartment, Alec knocked while Magnus steeled himself. He always came off as confident but he was always worried about meeting new people, especially family members of people he knew. He wanted to make the right impression so, while Alec gone for a simple jeans and khaki t-shirt combination, Magnus had donned black trousers with a navy with silver accent loose shirt and multiple rings and necklaces. Magnus felt like he was in a good place. His hair, makeup and clothing was on point and he was standing beside a man who rocked the ‘boy next door’ look so well. 

Izzy opened the door and met both of them with a large grin. “Alec. Magnus. I’m so glad you’re here. Everyone else is here. Come in.” They both walked into the apartment and Magnus was stunned with how small the apartment was. Magnus was not one for shunning other people’s homes but even he could tell that with the amount of people in the room there really wasn’t much space to move around. But he could tell that they had made good use of the space and turned it into a loving home. Magnus thought back to his apartment and had wished that he had invited them around to his place instead since there would be more room. Magnus wasn’t ashamed of his apartment at all. It was large and he had worked incredibly hard for the space that he had bought. Izzy and Simon’s apartment was filled with light colours and cream furniture with multiple pictures on the walls with what looked like memorabilia everywhere. Magnus smiled remembering the tidbit from Alec about Simon being a Star Wars fan after noticing a life size lego Millennium Falcon on the small dining room table in the corner. 

After handing Izzy the treats from the coffee shop, Alec leant over and gave Izzy a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks again for hosting game night here.” 

Izzy smiled. “It’s my pleasure” They all walk in and Magnus and Alec sat next to each other on the floor in a make shift circle while Izzy joins a bespeckled boy next to her. “Magnus this is Simon my boyfriend.” He leans over to shake hands with Simon who met him with a wide smile. “This is Max” She points to the young boy on her other side who was currently setting up a game in the middle of the circle. “You’ve already met Jace and this is his girlfriend Clary” She points to the red headed girl next to Magnus and they shakes hands. 

“Nice to meet you all. Thank you for letting me be a part of your night. I was saying to Alexander on the way here that I don’t get to see my friends often so it’s nice to be out of the house and meet new people.” 

“Well you’re always welcome to hang out with us Magnus if you want some company. It’s nice that Alec brought you along” Izzy offered. 

“Shall we play?” Max said as he had finished getting the ready. “Who’s up for Pictionary?”

For the next few hours, they went through multiple games and multiple bottles of wine for the adults, finally finishing with Charades before Max decided he wanted to call it a night by sleeping on Izzy and Simon’s bed, telling them to wake him up when everyone leaves so he can continue sleeping on the sofa. 

As Max leaves, Izzy sighs. “I feel so bad for Max some times. It’s not fair that we can’t afford somewhere with a spare bedroom.” 

Simon nodded. “I know. But he has told us on multiple occasions that he is okay with it.” 

“I wish I had another spare room for Max to stay in at my place.” Magnus lamented. 

“Oh, come on now. You’ve already saved one Lightwood from being homeless, you don’t want another one at your place. Soon your apartment will be crawling with Lightwoods and we won’t ever leave.” Clary joked. 

Magnus smiled. “What can I say? Alec hasn’t been that bad of a room mate” 

“Don’t get used to it. I should be out of your place in a few weeks” Alec jokes. 

“Madzie will miss you when you’re gone you know” Magnus lamented. 

“I’ll miss her too. Maybe when I’m back in my place I can come over and see her when you have her there.” Alec suggested. 

Magnus smiled. “I’m sure she would love that.” 

“Of course! Alec told me that you had someone staying over. How was the weekend?” Jace asked. 

Alec smiled, thinking back to how much fun the weekend was. He had loved every minute of his time with Magnus and Madzie. Alec smiled at the idea that Magnus would make a great Father one day. He had spoilt the poor girl rotten. “It was fun. We took her to the park then the local zoo and finished off the night with a Disney movie marathon and ice cream before Catarina came to pick her up.” 

“Although I think Alexander enjoyed the zoo more than Madzie did.” Magnus quipped

“Who doesn’t love monkeys?” Alec defended making everyone laugh. “They were so cute!” 

“I couldn’t agree more. But we did spend long enough there that Alexander almost got us thrown out because the zoo was shutting in five minutes.” 

“Hey! I don’t have an excuse to go there much. Leave me be!” Alec laughed taking a swig of his wine. 

“It’s okay buddy. We can go again some time soon” Jace mocked tapping Alec on the shoulder causing Alec to show Jace the middle finger.

“With that said, we might need to go. I have a landscape I need to finish painting in two days and I am no where near where I wanted to be.” Clary said yawning. 

Magnus looked to Alec who signalled he was ready to go too. For the next few minutes, everyone helped Izzy and Simon clear up before saying goodbye for the night. The walk home was pleasant. Luckily the heavy rain storm that had been threatened for tonight had managed to hold off just in time for them to walk through the front door without getting soaked. 

As the rain began to pour, they took their coats off, Magnus went into the kitchen to make some coffee. He was enjoying his first sip as his phone rang through the quiet house. He picked it up without looking at who had rung him. 

“Hello?” 

“Magnus. It’s Cat” 

Magnus smiled. “Catarina. How lovely to hear from you. How is Madzie?” 

Catarina’s answer was short and curt. “She’s fine. Listen Magnus, is Alec with you?” 

Magnus looks around and noticed Alec was sitting on the sofa in the living room out of ear shot. “He’s not why?” Curiosity was getting the better of him. 

Catarina sighed over the phone. “Magnus. You know you are my best friend and I love you but……” Catarina paused as Magnus’s heart lurched Something’s wrong. 

“Catarina. What’s wrong?” Magnus asked worridly. 

“I don’t mind you looking after Madzie but I need you to do me a favour.” 

“Anything” Magnus confirmed.

“Can you please not take Madzie outside with Alec around when she stays with you?” Catarina said after a long pause. 

“Why? I thought you liked Alexander?”

“I do. Don’t get me wrong.” Catarina defended “It’s just…. I found an article online spotting you two and Madzie at the zoo at the weekend. Someone had posted a photo of Alec and it had Madzie’s face there too. As her Mother, I don’t want her face over social media, especially with the type of attention that Alec gets. I’m sorry Magnus. You know my views of photos of Madzie online” Magnus did. Catarina is a very private person and was not one to post pictures of Madzie or herself online. He understood that. Now that she had been photographed with Alec he had to find a way to take that photo down.

“What did the article say?” 

“Mainly saying about Alec attending the zoo with a mystery man and child.” Magnus’ eyes widened. 

“Mystery man eh?” Magnus laughed “At least they haven’t come up with some scandalous affair after his break up from Andrew.” 

“I guess you’re right.” 

“Listen Catarina. I promise I will talk to Alexander about it and see if I can get the photo taken down. There is no reason for Madzie to be involved in this drama.” 

“Thank you for understanding Magnus. So, tell me about your day.” Magnus stayed on the phone to Catarina for a few more minutes making idol chit-chat before they decided to call it a night. They both had work tomorrow so they didn’t want to make it a late night. After they hung up, Magnus walked into the living room to see Alec still there, this time with a book in his hand. He looked so serene like that and after the happy day they had had today, he really didn’t want to turn it on it’s head. But he felt like there was no time like the present so Magnus took a deep breath and sat down on the sofa next to Alec preparing himself for the conversation ahead. 

“We need to talk” Magnus said. There was really no way to start this kind of conversation off well. Alec noticed Magnus next to him and closed his book. 

“Is everything okay?” Alec asks worriedly 

“Define okay” 

Alec stilled. “What’s happened?” 

Magnus exhaled loudly. “I just had Catarina on the phone. Apparently there is photo of us with Madzie on the internet and Catarina has asked for it to be taken down as she doesn’t like photos of Madzie online.” 

Alec just nods. “Okay. I’ll talk to my PR people to get it taken down in the morning.” 

Magnus nods in return. “I’m sorry Alexander. Catarina is such a private person and avoids all chances of Madzie being put on social media if she can help it. She has also asked that since you get so much publicity that we don’t take Madzie out while you are living here. She’s worried that it will happen again.” Magnus looks down at the floor, not able to look at Alec. 

Alec frowned, knowing what was coming. “I understand. I’m just sorry that I won’t be able to spend time with Madzie outside while I am here like a normal person would.”

“Madzie is smart. She will understand. Plus she loves you. She won’t mind having to spend more time in the apartment as long as you are there with her. But hey. That’s not going to stop me and you going out if you wanted to. Apparently I am a ‘mystery man’ so they don’t know who I am anyway.” Magnus joked, trying to lighten the mood. 

Alec scoffs. “And now it starts again” Alec mumbled. 

“I’m sorry?” Magnus asks knowing full well he heard him correctly. 

“This always happens when I am out in public with someone new. They always try to assume that they are a new lover. Even when I was with Andrew, they always tried to make it seem like I was having an affair if I went out with a friend rather than Jace, Izzy or Max. Thanks to the media I have lost a lot of friends who refuse to be seen out in public with me for the fear of having their picture taken. This is the price for knowing me.” 

“Then they were not the right friends to keep Alexander. They should be able to accept that this is a part of you and your career” 

“I’m glad you think like that Magnus but in all honesty, I’m lonely because no one sees the real me. The public only see the side they are made to see. Not the guy who loves his family unconditionally or is desperate to settle down and start a family. All they see is paparazzi, flashy dinners and award ceremonies. They don’t see the behind the scenes part of it all. I can’t get to know people the right way. The normal way. I can’t walk down the street without my photo being taken or a fan walking up to me. I want to be able to have one just day of normality. To go to the beach, to the zoo, to anywhere really that is not related to my work without it biting me in the ass. I knew what I signed up for when I became an actor but it has stunted my ability to have real friends. Andrew was a safe choice because he didn’t want to go out much and when we did it was always somewhere off the beaten track. Now Catarina is going to stop Madzie from seeing you because I’m here. It was just supposed to be a fun weekend and now I’ve ruined it for you. I’m so sorry Magnus.” 

Magnus shook his head. “Don’t be silly. Catarina doesn’t want me to stop seeing Madzie, we just need to….limit the places we can go with her for her own protection, that’s all. Most of the time we hang out in the apartment anyway. Going out at the weekend was a treat.” Without thinking about it, Magnus placed a comforting hand on Alec’s, jumping slightly at the electricity running through the contact, making his heart lurch. Alec didn’t pull away from the contact, nor did it seem like he wanted to. After a moment to collect himself, he tightened his grip on Alec’s hand and continued. “Madzie loves you and I love having you here. I won’t allow anything to change just because you are who you are.” Magnus stared straight into Alec’s eyes, wanting to fall into the sea of colour in them. “I promise you, you will get that day where you are not bothered. I’ll make sure of it.” 

Alec smiles, relaxed for the first time since the conversation started. “Thank you for understanding.” 

They both sat there for a while continuing to talk and plan activities that Madzie could do while she was at the apartment. Neither of them seemed to notice that they were still holding hands until they wished each other good night.


	8. chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspiration hit me!! 
> 
> Thank you for all of the comments and kudos! I am so glad you are all enjoying this so far. 
> 
> Please enjoy chapter 8

For the next few weeks Alec kept a low profile from the outside world. Both Magnus and Alec had agreed that whenever Madzie was going to stay over, either they played in the apartment or Magnus would take Madzie out by himself. The first few times leaving the house without Alec were a bit of a struggle. She had complained that she wanted to spend time outside with her ‘Uncle Alec’ but after a few tears from Madzie and a few heartbreaking silent tears from both Alec and Magnus, they had managed to convince Madzie that it was for the best that Alec stay inside as much as possible. When originally told this, Madzie thought that Alec was sick as he couldn’t go outside, so the following week after first being told that Alec couldn’t leave the house with her, she had returned dressed up in her nurses play outfit and had taken care of Alec all day, much to Magnus and Alec’s delight. They could definitely tell that she was going to follow in her Mother’s footsteps one day. 

Alec had been staying with Magnus for over a month by now and part of him was starting to feel at home with Magnus. He knew that as soon as he moved out of Magnus’ apartment, he would miss the constant presence of someone in the house. Whether it be Chairman Meow hanging out with Church or Magnus running around the house because he was running late for work…..again. He had gotten so used to having someone around all of the time that the idea of moving back into his one bedroom apartment was starting to be unthinkable. It also helped that it was conveniently closer to work for him too so he never complained with the extra thirty minutes he got in bed. 

He had a few more weeks of filming until the end of the current season. A few more weeks of work before he got a month off to just relax, maybe pick up some other work if he was interested before it was back to same schedule all over again. His agent had recently sent over a script for him to look over for a movie that he was interested in. This was nothing new for actors who were on reoccurring sitcoms. It felt nice for Alec to potentially spread his wings and explore the limits of what he could do as an actor. Alec liked the character. He was a young man in his early twenties, which with a shave he could still pull off, who was a demon hunter, set in a paranormal world based in New York. Alec always had a thing for sci-fi and fantasy novels so this was a perfect suggestion from his agent. He was currently sat on the sofa getting lost in the script when the door bell rang. Putting down his script, he got up to answer the door. It must have been someone the doorman knew otherwise they wouldn’t be standing outside the door now. He opened one of the grand double doors to find a small asian woman standing outside the door dressed in a smart navy rain coat, jeans and boots. She caught sight of Alec and widened her eyes in shock, clearly not expecting Alec to answer the door. 

“Hello. I’m Dot. Is Magnus in?” The woman asks. Alec silently did a double take. This was Magnus’ ex-girlfriend. He deliberated for a moment before answering, not knowing whether Magnus would want to see her again or not. Magnus wasn’t in but he was due back any moment. He could let her stand outside in the corridor if she was willing to wait but Alec didn’t like that idea, so he decided to go for the more gentlemanly approach. 

“No.” Alec answers. “But he only popped out for a minute to run an errand, you can come in and wait if you would like?” 

The woman looks cautiously at Alec as she nodded and slowly entered the room, looking around as she made her way into the living room. 

“So….How do you know Magnus?” Dot asked. Alec calmed. She seemed really sweet and obviously nervous so he gave her the benefit of the doubt and answered her. 

“I’m his room mate temporarily. My apartment flooded so he offered to lend me his spare room until mine is repaired.” Dot smiled. 

“Magnus has always been so caring of others. It doesn’t surprise me that he would do something like that. Do you live in the building?” 

Alec stilled himself, hoping this question was not going to come up. He could lie and say he did or be completely honest. He considered his options before going for honesty. 

“No. I live on the other side of town.” 

Dot looked surprised at this. “Oh. So how did you two meet?”

Shit. He really should have seen this question coming. Again he opted for vague honesty. “We met on holiday at the hotel bar. I found out my apartment was flooded while we were talking and after a lot of discussions, he discovered that I was from New York too and decided to offer his spare room to me. I wasn’t in a place to refuse at the time so I accepted.” 

Dot plastered on a fake smile and closed her eyes slightly as she nodded, trying to piece together everything in her head. “So he went to Targatey all along” She whispered. Alec guessed he wasn’t meant to hear that. “I’m sorry. You look so familiar. I never caught your name.” 

“I’m-“ 

“Alexander, I’m home” Both eyes went straight to the door as Magnus walked into the apartment carrying some shopping bags. “I found the most wonderful deli around the corner from here. You must try-“ Magnus stopped as he noticed the extra person in the room, frozen on the spot. Alec shuffled on his feet, not sure if he should give Dot and Magnus some space. “Dot.” The name rang through the apartment, Magnus’ eyes scrunching up trying to mask any pain that he felt. Alec knew right then that he needed to go. He was meant to be here for this reunion. 

“I need to go and pick up some stuff from my room. I’ll leave you two to it.” He turned to Dot. “It was lovely meeting you Dot.” He turned to look at Magnus and nodded in his direction, silently telling him he was nearby if he needed him and walked down the corridor to his room. As soon as he sat down on the bed, he felt uncomfortable. He knew this reunion had to happen at some point for Magnus but he wanted to be there for him to give his support. Despite all of his notions about invading Magnus’ privacy, Alec had decided to leave his door open slightly just incase Magnus called for him. As he laid on the bed attempting to read a book he had started weeks ago, hearing the conversation in the living room. 

“How have you been Magnus?” Dot asked shakily. 

“I’m fine.” Magnus’ answer was curt and to the point. Maybe it was not a good idea inviting Dot into the apartment to wait for Magnus after all. 

“Good. I’m glad I-“ 

“What are you doing here Dot?” Magnus interrupts. There is a brief silence before Dot answers softly enough that Alec had to concentrate to hear what was being said. “I realised that I left a few things here but, I wanted to see you.” 

“And what makes you think that I want to see you?” Alec cursed himself. Yes it was definitely a bad idea to let her in. 

“I was hoping that we could talk.” 

“Talk?” Magnus scoffed. “Okay then. Let’s talk about the fact that you decided to leave me all alone in an airport about to go on OUR holiday that I had worked as much overtime as I could to afford? Or how you not only left me, but you moved everything out of the apartment while I was away? Which one would you like to ‘talk about’ first?” 

Alec heard a sniffle from the other room, assuming that it was from Dot. “I’m sorry Magnus. I panicked. I didn’t see us going anywhere anymore as you were always working, I never saw you and when I did, it was just in passing so you could go off to yet another meeting or another patrol in your club. What was I supposed to do?” 

“How about talk to me? Tell me that you are feeling this way. I would have found a way to delegate or send someone else to the meetings if needs be so that I could be there for you.” 

“But that’s not who you are and you know that. You’ve always been one to do things yourself.” 

“I would have found a way if it meant that we were still together.” More silence followed before he heard some footsteps and loud clunk on one of the side units. “I was going to propose while we were away. Did you know that?” 

He heard Dot gasp and Alec guessed that the sound from earlier was Magnus putting the ring box on one of the side tables. “I’m assuming you would have said no so thanks for breaking my heart before it got to that stage I guess. Especially since while I was away I had to witness firsthand what it was like to be left by your fiancé.” Alec’s eyes widened. Oh shit. Please don’t bring him into this. 

Dot gasped again loudly. “Oh my- Is that Alec Lightwood in your spare room? I knew I recognised him from somewhere. Reports were saying that he had gone off the radar!” 

“Nope. Just another broken heart who needed someone to care about them. I’m guessing you wouldn’t know what that feels like anymore.” 

“Magnus, that’s not fair.” Dot argued. 

“Fair? You want to talk about fair? You left me! You broke up with me over the phone, telling me that you don’t love me anymore while I was in the department lounge planning how I was going to propose to you!” 

“How was I meant to know? This was meant to be a make or break getaway as it was!” Dot shouted. 

“Well then. I guess we know the outcome of this don’t we?” Magnus answered snidely 

“Magnus….” Dot sounded defeated. It had been decided. There wasn’t going to be any reconciliation anytime soon for them. Alec decided that he couldn’t listen to anymore. It was not his conversation to hear in the first place. But as he got up to close the door, he heard Magnus speak again softly. 

“You can go now. Grab whatever you came for and leave. Don’t expect to hear from me for a while.” 

There was a few more silent minutes before Dot murmured to Magnus. “For what it is worth, you are a wonderful man and I’m sorry Magnus. I really am.” With that Alec heard the front door close and the silence returned. Alec deliberated whether to go outside and comfort Magnus or not. He knew he was partially to blame by letting Dot into the apartment in the first place and guilt was settling heavily in his chest. He needed to go out and apologise but he was not sure whether Magnus would listen or not. Deciding to get it over and done with, Alec left his room after twenty minutes of silence to find Magnus sitting on his sofa with a glass of whiskey in his hands. Magnus didn’t look up at Alec as he entered so Alec figured he would have to start the conversation off. 

“Are you okay Magnus?” Stupid question he knew but he didn’t know any other way to get Magnus to talk. 

Magnus sighed. “As well as I can be I suppose.” 

Alec shuffled on his feet as he tried to find the right words to say. “Listen Magnus I… I just wanted to say I’m sorry for letting Dot into the apartment. I wasn’t sure whether you wanted to see her or not but the good manners my Mother instilled in me kicked in. I didn’t know how long you were going to be and I didn’t like the idea of her waiting for you in the hallway for a long time.” 

Magnus looked up at him and softly smiled. “It’s okay. I understand. Your Mother raised you right. I don’t blame you at all. It was inevitable that this was going to happen at some point I guess, but I guess I just wanted it to be on my own terms and when I was ready to see her again. Then again thinking about it I doubt I would have ever been ready to see her again.” Magnus sighed heavily as he knocked back the rest of his whiskey. “What’s done is done.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m still sorry Magnus. That could not have been easy for you and me being here probably didn’t make things any easier.” 

Magnus shook his head. “It’s fine. I don’t blame you, I promise. It’s not like we are together and she just walked in on me with my new boyfriend”

Alec gave a disheartened chuckle in response. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.” They both stared at each other for a moment or two not saying a word to each other. It was like Magnus was waiting for Alec to say something but he wasn’t sure what that was. The palpable atmosphere caused a heavy weight to land on Alec’s chest at that comment. He inwardly shook his head. Why was he feeling like this? It was just an offhanded comment. Did he really want that to be the case? Did he want to be in some form of a relationship with Magnus and be showed off to Dot to prove that Magnus had moved on? He needed to get away from this talk now and get his head straight. He walked over to the table where his abandoned script was and picked it up. “I need to read this script for tomorrow. I’ll… leave you to it.” Magnus didn’t answer as his eyes followed Alec. “Are you sure you are okay Magnus?” Should he stay with him? Did Magnus want to be alone right now? Should he go and leave him be to wallow in his own thoughts? Alec had no idea what to do. 

Magnus gently smiled back and shook his head. “No it’s okay. You have work to do. Let me know when you are finished and we can sort dinner out.” 

Alec copied Magnus’ smile and nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you in a bit.” When he walked back to his room and shut the door, Alec laid down on the bed, the script forgotten again. He really didn’t feel like reading right now. His head was too frazzled. Where were his thoughts going lately? He has never really been attracted to this guy before and suddenly his mind was shoving all of these thoughts in his head. Yes he did sleep with Magnus when he first met him but that would have been the alcohol mixed with his recent heartbreak. He would have probably kissed anyone when he was that drunk. But it was the small things that Magnus did throughout their time together that made his fondness for Magnus grow. He invited him, a complete stranger, into his home when he had no where else to go, he got along with his family, he would make coffee for them in the morning and talk to Alec if he was having a bad day. He even encouraged Alec to go for that movie that he currently has the script for. It was small things but they were endearing. Plus he was amazing with Madzie. He had the most musical laugh and beautiful smile Alec had ever seen or heard. He was gorgeous and always dressed to impress. He was supportive and he genuinely cared about Alec. 

Alec laid back on his bed and with a heavy sigh, he came to a conclusion. 

He had feelings for Magnus whether he wanted them or not and, he realised, it was not the first time he had thought of something like this. He couldn’t help but notice the tension between them two after Magnus’ offhanded comment. It sounded like there was an underlying meaning to the comment or was Alec just reading too much into it? Alec knew how he felt, there was no more denying it but Alec laid on his bed for the next hour wondering. 

Does Magnus feel the same way?


	9. chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little more into Alec's backstory and Alec makes a drastic move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **warning!!** 
> 
> This chapter is heavy going and for some people it might be upsetting and/or triggering. It features how Alec found out about his parent's death which is not a nice scene to read. It is written in Italics so if you want to miss it then please feel free to do so. It will not affect how you read the story drastically. Please feel free to talk to someone if you have ever been in a situation like this. Communication is key!

“Okay. I don’t know what is going on in your head right now Lightwood, but you’d better bring your A-game for the next shoot because this is not you. You are more professional than this.” The director shouted at Alec before shouting at everyone that could hear him. “We are going to do this scene one more time and that’s it. We are done for the night. Let’s wrap this up and go home.” 

Today was not a good day for Alec. The day had been very long and over night. He hated night shoots at the best of times, mainly because they always seemed to happen when it was freezing cold outside and he was always dressed in the thinnest outfits. No matter what Alec did, he managed to somehow mess up his lines throughout the night and the director screamed at him after the shoot to get his act into gear for the next shoot. It didn’t help that Alec was acting out a very emotional scene for him. They were on set in the hospital and his character had to perform CPR on a character who was admitted and had suffered a cardiac arrest after being in a car accident. This was the tenth time they had to act out this particular scene and no matter what Alec’s character did, it always ended in the same way. The patient always died. This hit home for Alec a lot. The director never needed to tell Alec to cry on cue, he was already there, waiting to be told that he could let his emotions out. 

Every time he was pretending to do CPR on the fake patient, Alec’s mind began to flash back to the night he found out his parent’s died. 

_He was babysitting Jace, Izzy and Max for the night since he was the most responsible. His parent’s were always away with work or out socialising with friends so it was nothing new for Alec to babysit for the night. It was always a quiet night when his parents went out. They would always stay up late and watch a movie with lots of popcorn and pizza before dragging themselves to bed at an unreasonable hour. He always enjoyed these nights with his siblings and always treasured them as they grew up. It was 2am when Alec woke up after an hour’s sleep to hear banging on the front door. He opened the door to find his Mother and Father’s friend Luke at the door in his police uniform. It was heavily raining outside so Alec invited Luke in._

_“Luke. Is everything okay?” Even when Alec started babysitting his siblings, his parents never sent anyone to the house so understandably he was concerned._

_Luke looked like he was on the verge of crying and something in Alec’s gut hit him hard. This was bad news. Something was wrong. “I’m so sorry Alec. I need you to wake up Izzy and Jace and bring them downstairs. I need to talk to you.”_

_“What about Max?” He asks_

_Luke shook his head. “Max is too young. Let him sleep.”_

_“Sure. Feel free to make yourself some coffee in the kitchen and I’ll go wake them up.” Luke nods and Alec wakes up Izzy and Jace, bringing them downstairs still in their pyjamas._

_Luke joins them in a few minutes with a cup of coffee in his hand. After taking a sip, he places it down on the coffee table in front of him, the leftovers of the movie night still on the table. “I understand this is very odd for you and you need to understand that I am still on the clock at work here so I am just doing my job.”_

_“What’s wrong?” Jace asks sleepily_

_Luke hangs his head taking a deep breath before steeling himself for the conversation ahead. “Your parent’s have been in a serious car accident. They were taken to the hospital not far from here”_

_All three pairs of eyes looked at Luke shocked. Jace placed a hand on Izzy’s arm comfortingly._

_“Are they okay?” Alec asked_

_“I wish I was coming here with better news, but….. I’m so sorry to say that your parent’s died on impact. The EMT’s did all they could but they couldn’t revive them.”_

_The sound of Izzy’s screams was haunting. Jace immediately leapt into action to console his sister while Alec sat there in shock. His parent’s are dead. He was 18 years old, the man of the house now. Guilt hit him heavily. He had had a fight with his parent’s that night before they left and they never got to resolve it. Now they will never be able to resolve it. As Izzy cried into Jace’s arms, Alec sat rooted to his spot on the couch and the heavy burden now placed on him settled. He would have to settle all of the bills in the house, he would have to provide for his three younger siblings, make sure that they go through school and college, to follow their dreams. He needed to get a job. He needed to forget his dream of being an actor, unless something big came up. He had already done a few small commercials here and there but they wouldn’t help towards looking after a young family. Maybe he could access his trust fund now? Maybe that could help with keeping them afloat for now?_

_“Alec. It’s going to be okay. I’m here for you whatever you need. I promised your parents that I would always be there for you and I intend to keep that promise.” ___

__Luke did in fact keep his promise. He helped Alec sort through the bills and help him run the household as he went to audition after audition while he worked in a small coffee shop in between. Soon after, he managed to gain a contract with an indie movie which boosted his career. Jace and Izzy were old enough to help out around the house too and had managed to get jobs while helping take Max to school everyday. Luckily the house was paid for and since there was an adult still living in the house (Alec), they were never asked to move out._ _

__Alec considered himself lucky. He managed to procure his dream job and look after his family. Safe to say it was not without it’s struggles but they all survived until they all moved out and got their own places since they could no longer afford to keep running a large house. His parent’s death became big news quickly. His parents were well known, his Father a lawyer and his Mother an actress. Alec always knew that he wanted to follow in his Mother’s footsteps so he promised himself that he would be the best that he could be for them._ _

__As Alec left the studio for the day, exhausted and clutching a cup of coffee like it was his lifeline, he was met with a barrage of photographers, wanting to get two minutes with the actor. He kept his head down, wishing they would just leave him alone so he could drive home in peace._ _

__“Alec! Alec! What are you going to do today? Do you have any comments? Do you think your parents would be proud of you? Are you going to visit your parents today? Have you seen Andrew lately? Do you have any comments about your wedding being cancelled? How will you be celebrating today?” Alec always scoffed at that last question. He never ‘celebrated’ the day of his parents death. That was the day that his life changed forever. Normally he would spend the day to himself and then he would go see his siblings in the evening, or phone them if he was working. But today all he wanted to do was sleep. He had had a rough night and his director just scalded him in front of his colleagues. He just wanted to be left alone. But life was just not going that way for him today. The shouts from the reporters and the flashes from the cameras were giving him a blinding headache, getting really close to his personal space to the point of feeling suffocated. If one more person screamed at him he was sure that he would snap and punch someone. He didn’t care. They were being extremely insensitive and Alec was ready to blow._ _

__He managed to reach his car in record time, all the while keeping his head down and keeping quiet. It was always the way to deal with reporters. Say nothing and they get nothing for their story in return. The second he could, he sped off in his car, looking constantly in his rearview mirror to make sure he was not followed. For the first time in over 12 hours, it was quiet. Relief flooded him as he fought the tears starting to cling to his eyes, threatening to pour down his face at any minute. He needed to wait until he reached his room before he could let go fully. He knew that Magnus would be coming home now from his shift at the club so he knew the house would be quiet. He liked quiet. It meant nothing was happening. His brain could finally shut down for the day._ _

__Within no time, he had arrived at Magnus’ building. He parked in the underground car park and ran to the front door, slamming it shut when he walked through the door. As soon as he hit the threshold he knew he was safe. No one could get to him today anymore. He had had enough of today already and technically it was just getting started. Fuck the world. Fuck his job. Fuck the fact that he had to be a parent to his siblings from a young age. Fuck today. Fuck everything! Despite wanting to get to his room before breaking down, his body had other ideas. He had been holding on for too long. He needed release. As soon as he had slammed the front door shut, the tears in his eyes started to pour. He lent against the front door and he felt himself slide down the door until his knees were at his head. He hugged his knees tightly and broke down._ _

__Magnus was sleeping off a long night at Pandemonium before he woke suddenly to the sound of the front door slamming. He rolled over in bed onto his back realising that Alexander must be home. He tried to get himself back to sleep before he heard soft sounds coming from outside his room. He could swear he heard someone crying. Deciding to go outside and check where the noise was coming from, he discovered Alexander sitting on the floor, back against the front door holding onto his knees, his knuckles white from his tight grip. He was crying. Magnus’ heart broke at the sight. Magnus had dealt with Alec when he had come home upset from dealing with difficult scenes at work but he had never seen Alec so broken. He immediately knelt down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder._ _

__“Alexander.” He said softly trying to make his presence known. Alexander lifted his head to look at Magnus. His eyes red from crying, his face contorted in pain. “What happened.”_ _

__“Nothing. I’m fine.” He dismissed._ _

__Magnus shook his head. “Doesn’t look like nothing to me.”_ _

__Alec stared off into the distance for what seemed like an age. Magnus never once said a word, waiting for Alec to make the first move._ _

__“Today is the day my parent’s died. I had a horrible scene to act out today that was…. a little too close to what happened to them.”_ _

__“Oh Alexander” Magnus said understanding instantly. “Come on. Let’s sit on the sofa. I’m sure its not comfortable sitting on the floor like this” Magnus offered Alec an open hand to help Alec up from the floor. Without a word Alec took it and they both wandered over to the sofa sitting next to each other, both wanting that closeness. Alec continued to stare at the floor mindlessly. He didn’t want to talk. He was done talking and thinking today. He just wanted to sleep the day away and carry on as normal._ _

__Magnus noticed Alec’s tenseness and placed a hand on his knee. “There’s more to the story isn’t there.”_ _

__Alec looked at Magnus, noticing the concern in his eyes. Part of him didn’t want to answer but his body was screaming at him to come clean._ _

__“Paparazzi were there when I left work today. It’s not unpopular news about today and they wanted me to comment. They kept asking we questions about Andrew, how I was going to spend the day today and whether they think my parents would be proud of me or not. After filming that scene over and over again, it was just too much.”_ _

__A heavy weight landed in Magnus' chest in sympathy. He knew what it was like to live without parents who had died so suddenly. That pain never faded. “I understand Alexander. It’s never going to be easy going through today. They meant so much to you and having the reporters bombard you like that was completely insensitive.”_ _

__Alec chuckled staring into Magnus’ eyes smiling. “Thank you. You always know the right thing to say.”_ _

__Magnus smiled, his heart warming at seeing him smile once again._ _

__“I will always be here for you Alexander” Magnus answered softly, squeezing his hand on Alec’s knee in support._ _

__Alec was not sure what came over him, but the distance between them was closing. This wonderful man infront of him represented all of the comfortable and warmth he had ever wanted in his life. He looked down to his inviting lips and wondered what it would be like to kiss him, like it would be the answer to all of his problems. He felt a pull between them that was urging him to close the small gap between them. Whether it was because he had had a horrible day plus being overwhelmed with the paparazzi around him after filming and he just wanted comfort, he was not sure. But before he knew it, he lent forward and his lips were pressing against Magnus’. They were exactly like Alec had pictured in his dreams. They were soft. The smell from Magnus’ cherry lipgloss mixing with his own dry lips made his head spin. Before he knew it the kiss ended and Alec pulled away, shocked by what he had done. He stared back at Magnus shocked. What the hell had he just done? He couldn’t believe that he had just kissed Magnus. Had he just ruined everything he wanted?_ _

__“I’m, I’m sorry. I just.” With that he ran back to his room, leaving Magnus shocked still sitting on the sofa._ _


	10. chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried for a bit of sexual tension. Hope it reads that way ;) 
> 
> Magnus' POV on the kiss and Malec reconciliation.

It’s been over a week since Alec and Magnus spoke to each other. Neither wanted to bring up the ‘incident’ as it was now dubbed in their heads. Magnus was confused. He knew how he felt about Alec but he was never sure how Alec felt in return. Did the kiss mean that Alec liked him? Was he just overwhelmed and acted on impulse in a weird form of wanting comfort? It wouldn’t be the first time someone had tried to kiss him at work when they were upset and he was just being nice to them. He honestly didn’t know. It wasn’t for a lack of trying when it came to talking to Alexander. Magnus would return home after being at Pandemonium to find either Alec in his room or running out the door to either go to the gym or to work. It was clear that Alec was avoiding him and he honestly didn’t know where he stood anymore. If Alec liked him too he would welcome it, but considering Alec seemed to be confused, he decided to let him come to him in his own time. Magnus probably figured that Alec was embarrassed right now due to the nature of how the kiss happened. Throughout the week, the kiss has been running through his mind over and over again. To say he was shocked that it had happened was an understatement but that didn’t mean that he regretted it happening. He had been wondering what it would be like to kiss Alec for weeks. Now he finally knew. It was perfect. It was like two puzzle pieces fitting together and yet, Alec was avoiding him. 

It was another long night at Pandemonium for Magnus. He had already had to remove two people in his club for fighting, send someone off to the hospital as a result of the fight and convince someone to stop flirting with the bartenders to get free drinks. He was exhausted, his head pounding and the loud music in the club was not helping. It was an unwritten rule for him that he never drank on the job but tonight he was willing to break it. He went behind the bar and grabbed himself a single scotch on the rocks and started walking towards his office before a figure in the crowd caught his eye. 

A tall female with long black wavy hair was dancing with a male with glasses. It took a moment for Magnus to realise why he was drawn to them. It was Izzy and Simon! He decided that it would be rude of him to not say hi so he made his way over, tapping Izzy on the shoulder. She turned around, her annoyance from being disturbed from dancing with Simon disappearing straight away. 

“Magnus!” She shouted throwing her arms around him for a hug. “It’s so good to see you!” 

“And you. Thank you for coming to my club.” Magnus smirked. 

Izzy’s eyes widened. “Your club? Wait. Alec did say you owned a club but I didn’t know it was this one!” 

“That is so cool!” Simon answered before winking at Magnus “Does that mean we can get a free drink?” 

Magnus laughed. “Don’t push your luck Sheldon.” 

“Uh. Simon.” Simon corrected 

Magnus smiled. “I know. I’m just messing with you. So are you both here alone?”

Izzy beamed. “No. Jace, Clary and Alec are here. I’m surprised Alec didn’t tell you.” 

Magnus looked at Izzy disheartened. “No. We haven’t really seen each other all week.” 

“Well, to be honest, Alec has been a bit miserable lately so we decided to take him out to cheer him up.” Magnus nodded at this information. It was not exactly anything new to him that Alec was not in the greatest of moods. “Come on, let’s go see them” Izzy grabbed Magnus’ hand before he could protest and led them to a booth near the back of the club. He was met with Jace and Clary cuddling up together while they share a shot with a slumped over Alec who seemed to be nursing his drink. They were laughing about something Jace was saying and it filled Magnus’ heart that Alec was laughing again. This past week of having Alec ignore him with a constant somber look on his face was more than he could bare. Jace was the first to notice Magnus, Izzy and Simon joining their table. 

“Magnus!” Jace shouted throwing his arms in the arm in elation. Clary greets him with a large smile and Alec just turns his head to meet Magnus’ eyes and stalls. Shit. This was a bad idea coming here. “Didn’t know you would be here man!” 

“I know right?” Izzy shouts back over the blaring music. “Did you know that Magnus owns this club?” 

Jace’s eyes widen. “No way! That is so cool! Any chance of free drinks since we know the owner?” 

Magnus laughs. “Nice try. Simon already asked and I turned him down” 

“You’re useless Simon! Alec. Why didn’t you tell us Magnus owns this club? You could have asked your hubby to hook us up!” Jace shouts back hitting Alec lightly on the arm in jest causing everyone at the table to still. “What? Too soon?” 

“Come on you.” Clary said rolling her eyes and dragging Jace up onto the dance floor, throwing an apologetic look to both Alec and Magnus. 

“Wait for us!” Izzy shouted back at the disappearing couple before dragging Simon to the floor with her. “Talk to him” She whispered into Magnus’ ear. 

‘No time like the present’ Magnus thought as he settled down in one of the vacant seats. The pair sat there in silence for a moment or two before Alec chimed in. “I’m sorry about Jace. He doesn’t have a filter once you get a few drinks into him” 

Magnus sighed in relief. Alec was talking to him at last. He shook his head. “It’s okay. I mean, for a few more months it is technically true. Plus you’ll be surprised how many times a night I get asked if I can get people free drinks just because they know me” ‘Shut up Magnus!’ He berated himself. He was nervous and when he was nervous he babbled. Alec just nodded in response. “I haven’t seen you all week.” 

Alec looked up from his drink to look at Magnus. He looked.. scared. “I know.” 

Magnus just decided to jump right into the lion’s den. “Look, Alec. If all of this is about what happened last week, it’s okay. You were overwhelmed and emotional. It’s only natural for someone to seek comfort in the way that you did.” He didn’t want to offer a way out for Alec, in fact he wanted to embrace ‘the incident’ and see if it led anywhere, but he felt it was best if it meant Alec started talking to him again. 

“But I shouldn’t have done it. Now everything’s…..weird between us.” Alec had bowed his head in embarrassment so Magnus had to strain his ears to make sure he heard Alec correctly. 

“It’s only weird if you let it be.” Magnus argued. He placed a hand on top of Alec’s in support. “I’ve missed you.” 

Alec smiled slightly. “I’ve missed you too. I figured you didn’t want to speak to me after it happened so I threw myself into work so you wouldn’t have to see me.”

“Oh Alexander. There would never be a time when I wouldn’t want to see you. For what it is worth, yes I was surprised when you kissed me but it doesn’t change the fact that I want you around.” Magnus was desperate to tell Alec that he didn’t regret the kiss one bit. In fact he liked it and wanted to do it again. But Alec had built up an invisible barrier between the pair of them and he didn’t want to scare Alec into running away again. 

“How can you be so blasé about this?”

Magnus chuckled. “Well not to be the barer of bad news but we have kissed before when we first met. It’s not like we haven’t crossed that barrier before” 

Alec smiled “I guess you’re right.” 

Magnus smiled in return as he looked down at his watch. “Come on. Dance with me. My shift ended ten minutes ago and I want to enjoy the night while it is still young.” 

“Do you normally do that after a shift?” 

Magnus nodded “Sometimes. Depends on how good of a mood I’m in. Right now, I want to dance with the prettiest boy in the room” Alec chuckled trying to hide his flushed cheeks. “What do you say?” Magnus held out a hand which after a moment or two of deliberation, Alec grabbed. 

“You’re going to regret this. I am a horrible dancer.” Alec admonished

“No one is a horrible dancer. They just don’t know how to dance properly. Come on. I’ll show you.” Magnus dragged Alec to the centre of the dance floor. They were surrounded by bodies all moving to the beat of the music. Magnus started to sway his hips in time to the music while Alec tried with a lot of effort to copy. Magnus noticed this and laughed. “Maybe lose the look of constipation from your face. Enjoy it. No one is watching. No one cares.” He placed his hands on Alec’s hips and rocked them side to side in time to the music. 

Three songs down and Alec was joining Magnus with his dance moves. He threw his head back closing his eyes as the atmosphere of the nightclub and the bodies around him enveloped his senses. Looking back down he couldn’t help but watch Magnus as he lost himself in the music. Alec couldn’t help but realise how beautiful and soulful Magnus looked in the low lighting, clearly enjoying himself. He took a moment to look around the room, noticing his brother and sisters with their other halves enjoying themselves. Alec was never a club person but he figured with the right person it didn’t seem so bad. 

That was until a couple near the bar brought him out of his good mood. He stopped moving immediately as he noticed a man with short blond curly hair standing at the bar closely to another man with long black hair tied in a low ponytail and a rounded beard. Immediately Alec started to panic. No, this was too soon. He wasn’t ready yet. Why now? Why here? Andrew hated nightclubs, this was meant to be Alec’s safe space. 

“Alexander” Magnus asked noticing Alec’s stillness. “What’s wrong?” 

“I can’t be here anymore. I’m. I’m sorry Magnus” He stuttered, starting to make his way off the dance floor before Magnus caught his wrist halting him. 

“Hold on, what’s wrong?” Magnus asks again. “Tell me” 

“Andrew.” Alec stated “My ex is here, with the guy he left me with.” 

Magnus’ eyes went wide with shock. He could only imagine what Alec must be feeling right now. Something inside of him screamed to immediately protect Alec at all costs. He was willing to do anything to make sure Alec was okay. “Do you want me to kick them out? Because I can do that for you” 

Alec shook his head. “No that wouldn’t be fair. I just. I need to get out of here. I’m not ready to see him yet.” 

“Stay for one more drink.” Magnus pleaded, not ready for this night to finish “You don’t have to go near him.”

“He’s here with his boyfriend. I don’t want to see him like this.” 

“Like what? You look fine to me.” Magnus asked curiously. 

“Like I’m not ready to see him. Look at me I’m a mess”

Magnus took one look at Alec and could honestly see no faults. His black trousers hung just on his hips while his demin shirt was wrapped around him in all the right place showing off his muscular arms and tight torso. This man in front of him was sheer perfection, not that he was going to tell him that yet. “No you’re not. You’re fine Alec. Trust me. Just please stay with me for a little longer. You were there for me when I had to see Dot again and now I’m going to help you. He has moved on and you need to as well otherwise you are going to be wondering ‘what if’ for the rest of your life and we all know how well that goes. Anyway, he left you right? Then let’s show him what he is missing” 

Alec deliberated with himself for a moment before concluding “Okay.” 

“Great. I love this song. Let’s dance.” They continue dancing for another two songs before Alec’s eyes start to wander around the room before his eyes meet ones that he had known so well. “Oh god. He’s seen me. What do I do?”

“Alec. Calm down. Just carry on dancing. Come on, let’s show him that you don’t need him anymore.” With that, Magnus pulls Alec’s face by his chin to face him and continues to sway his hips in time to the music. Magnus decides to bite the bullet and pulls his arms up around Alec’s neck. “Just keep your eyes on me” 

As they move to the beat, thanks to Magnus’ arms being around Alec’s their bodies move closer together. Alec decides to let his inhibitions go and enjoy the moment. For over a week, he has been wanting so much to be close to Magnus, to talk to him, to apologise and to maybe get his reaction to the kiss. Now, he was forgiven for what happened and he was living his fantasy of dancing closely with the most beautiful man in the room to him, their bodies connected, hips touching hips. The room is lost to him as Magnus’ perfume fills his nose, Magnus’ body radiating heat against his as they continue to move. The music grows deeper, the bass of the music thumping through their bodies igniting all of the nerves in Alec’s body. Magnus decides to remove his hands from Alec’s neck and turn around so he could press back into Alec. Magnus grabs Alec’s hands to place them on his hips as Alec moves his head towards Magnus’ neck, settling there so he could take in everything that was Magnus. It was exhilarating as they continue to move, getting lost in the music and each other. Magnus continued to gyrate against Alec sending all kinds of emotions running through him. 

He knew all of this was a show for Andrew to see but part of him really wished this was real. If he could be with Magnus for real, he could kiss his neck, his cheek, his ear, he would run his arms up and down Magnus’ body marvelling at how muscular he was right now if he wanted to. By the angel he wanted it so much. He wanted to devour this man pressed up against him but he knew he couldn’t have it so for now he was going to just enjoy this. Not once while they were dancing did Alec look up to see if Andrew was looking because in all honesty, he didn’t care. All he wanted to know about was this miraculous man in front of him that he thought he had blown it completely with when he pushed over the invisible barrier he placed on themselves. 

Magnus dancing was a sight to behold. He moved so smoothly that you would think he was moving in water. He closed his eyes to remove the sight of Magnus to concentrate on the feelings welling up inside of him instead. 

Before Alec was ready for it, Magnus turned around again, facing Alec as he continued to dance. He instantly missed the feel of Magnus against him. If he could have he would have groaned at the loss but he was not going to give himself the satisfaction. Magnus continued to dance close to Alec, their eyes meeting mere inches from each other’s face. The world to them was each other’s faces with blurs of colour and noise surrounding them. Alec’s hands continued to wrap around Magnus’s hips as they continued to dance close, staring deeply into each other’s half lidded eyes. The pull of electricity exciting every nerve ending on both ends making sure they did not lose their focus on the other. Neither of them moved any closer, Magnus enjoying the feel of having Alec’s hands on him, Alec enjoying the proximity of Magnus to him. Neither of them wanted to ruin the moment thinking that if they decided to take the leap they both desperately craved and close the gap between them, they would lose the other for good. But it only felt natural to them both to close the gap. Alec had already ensured that his feelings for Magnus were clear, now all Magnus had to do was reciprocate. 

Before long, another person made their presence known. Alec snapped his head to his right, throwing a furious look at the person breaking their moment. It was Jace holding hands with a swaying Clary standing behind him. 

“Alec, hey” Jace said not realising what he had stumbled across. “Clary and I are going to go. Clary’s had a bit too much to drink so I’m going to take her home. Just thought I’d let you know.” 

“Uh, yeah. Sure” Alec answered as he looked at Magnus again, the spell over them seaming to be broken. 

“I just realised I forgot that I need to finish some paperwork off before leaving tonight. Excuse me.” Magnus stuttered wanting to get away from this tension as quickly as possible. He looked at Alec one more time, his cheeks blushing slightly before heading towards his office. 

Alec nodded as his heart sank. What was that between them just now? Were they okay? Was Magnus feeling awkward after dancing so intimately with Alec? Alec knew he definitely did. He had just revelled in his fantasy for a few minutes for it to be ripped away instantly. He looked around the room. He noticed Andrew was still staring at him and he started to panic again. He felt like a caged animal in the zoo with Andrew’s eyes on him. Alec knew that he had probably watched him dance with Magnus just now and the idea of it at the time didn’t seem to bother him. Now all he wanted to do was get out of the club and away from this environment. Magnus was no longer here to distract and protect him from the piercing gaze from across the room. 

“Actually. I’ll come with you.” Alec decided. 

“Are you okay?” Jace asked noticing Alec’s conflicted expression. 

“I don’t know”


	11. chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay Ladies and Gents. You can put your torches and pitchforks down now! I promise I listened to your requests :P
> 
> Please enjoy the last chapter of Lost and Found! I am currently writing an epilogue as we speak!

“Magnus Bane. I love you but you are an absolute imbecile.” Ragnor shouted through the phone at Magnus who was sitting on his sofa in his apartment.

Magnus put his head in his hands and groaned “I know Ragnor. I’ve fucked things up between us. We had just reconciled and now I’ve pushed him away again.”

“But what I don’t understand is why you walked away? You had the perfect chance to be close to him again and talk it all out. Why did you leave so suddenly?” Catarina asked. 

Magnus leant back in the sofa staring at the ceiling intensely as if it had all of the answers he needed. “I honestly don’t know. I guess I got scared. After realising that I did have feelings for Alec, then Alec kissing me and pushing me away, it all got so messed up in my head. When we danced together it was amazing. It was like we really connected and yet in the back of my head I realised that it was all for show. It was to show up Alec’s ex-fiance and it put a cold shower over the whole situation for me. It wasn’t real. Alec is still trying to get over his ex and I used that for my own selfish gain to get close to him. I didn’t feel like I was being honest with myself in that moment and when Jace came over to tell us he was taking Clary home, it hit me. I needed to get away from him so that he could make his own decision and not let emotions cloud his judgement.” 

“I understand that Magnus but in all honesty, what is stopping you now? Alec has made his feelings clear for you and if last night was anything to go by, you made it clear that you like him too” Catarina answered. 

Magnus was stumped by that because in all honesty, he could not answer that question honestly. He really wanted to talk to Alec and as much as Catarina was right, he didn’t want to scare Alec away anymore. 

“You need to talk to him Magnus.” Ragnor interjected. “You need to let him know how you feel. Otherwise you two will be dancing around each other until Alec leaves your apartment and you two will probably never see each other again.” Magnus’ stomach dropped at that idea. Now that he had Alec in his life, he never wanted him to leave. Ragnor was right. One way or another he needed to talk to Alexander and tell him how he felt. But was he ready for yet another bout of heartbreak?

Magnus’ phone started to ring in his ear again from another call. “I’m sorry my dears but I need to go, someone else is trying to call me. I’ll talk to you later.” He rung off the call, immediately being put on the other line. 

“Hello dear Isabelle……Hold on. Slow down. Alec has what?”

*******

“I’m just heading to my apartment for five minutes Izzy and then I’m going back to Magnus’. I’ll talk to you later. Okay. Love you too. Bye” Arriving at the front door of his apartment, he popped his key into the door and noticed that the flooring and wallpaper had already been replaced. The superintendent of the building had rung Alec earlier that day to tell him that he was free to move back into his place whenever he wanted to. Walking through his apartment, it felt cold. The silence was deafening, unlike Magnus’ place which was always so full of life. His apartment was full of colour whereas Alec’s was full of grey’s and blacks. In all honesty, in such a short space of time, Alec realised that he didn’t feel like he belonged in this apartment anymore. He wanted to be in Magnus’ apartment all of the time, with that very man. Dancing with Magnus last night was amazing. He was given the opportunity to be close with him and he grabbed it with every fibre of his being. But now it was a new day and since Alec hadn’t seen Magnus since he walked away last night, he wasn’t sure where they stood again. Despite it only being around 12 hours since they had last seen each other, he missed him. 

“Alec” Alec turned as he heard a voice from behind him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think you would be here.” 

Alec stilled, staring at the man standing in their - no his- doorway. “Andrew” 

Andrew went over to the kitchen island and picked up some letters. “I’m sorry. I came to see if there was any mail for me. I haven’t sorted out all of my redirections yet.” He looked around the room and noticed the changes in the apartment. “Did you redecorate?” 

Alec shuffled his feet and put his hands in his trouser pockets. “Uh. No. The apartment flooded while I was still in Tagatay so I had to get it refurbished.”

“Oh.” Andrew answered surprised. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Was anything ruined?” 

Alec shook his head. “Nothing I couldn’t replace.” Alec wouldn’t dare to admit that photos of them together had been destroyed along with multiple gifts from Andrew from over the years. “It’s not like you would know anyway. You moved your stuff out before I even knew what was going on.” 

Andrew dropped his head in shame. “Yeah. For that Alec. I know what I did was not the right way of doing things, but I still wanted to say I was sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you like that.”

“Then why did you wait until our wedding day to tell me you had moved in with another man? Lorenzo of all people!” Alec scoffed at his own stupidity. “I was so blind-sighted that I never saw what was going on with you two.” 

“You know why Alec. I already told you. I was scared. I freaked out because I realised that we were not meant to be together. Now you have a chance to be happy with someone who genuinely loves you” 

Alec scoffed harshly. “Yeah well, look at where that got me with you. I thought you genuinely loved me. I thought we were going to spend the rest of our lives together and yet you went behind my back, and managed to break my trust and my heart in one go!” 

Andrew looked down at the floor in embarrassment. Alec couldn’t help but feel happy at the sight. “I can’t say how sorry I am Alec. I know. I’m a jerk. I’ll let you punch me if it makes you feel better. I deserve it. But you have to realise that we were not working as we drew closer to the wedding?” 

“I thought you were just getting stressed about it all” Alec stated bluntly, chastising himself at how ridiculous that sounded.

Andrew shook his head. “I had realised that when you are with someone you are suppose to balance each other out. You are supposed to be there for each other when it all goes to shit, to be able to communicate with each other and make each other the best that they can be. I didn’t do that for you. Did you not realise that all we ever talked about was work or the wedding? Never about how either of our families were? About our thoughts? How we were feeling? We were both so wrapped up in this little cage that we had made ourselves that we almost became like robots doing the same routine day in and day out. Seeing you in the club last night was an eye opener for me. I had never seen you smile like that before. You never liked dancing and yet when you were dancing with that guy….. It made you shine. You looked free. Like you didn’t have a care in the world and I knew that I never did that for you. I feel like I am now the best version of myself with Lorenzo and I know now that I denied you the chance to be the best version of yourself when we were together. I like that Alec I saw on the dance floor. It was a whole new side of you that I never got to see”

Alec’s eyes widened in shock. He was right. Damn it. Andrew was right and Alec had never seen it. When they were together, they were so focused on doing the same things all of the time, just working as much as they could. They never went out, they never saw people together as a couple, hell they hadn’t even had sex for months before the wedding, always falling asleep instantly when they went to bed. Alec just thought they were being domestic. Clearly he hadn’t realised that it was not how it was meant to be. They were not a real couple. They never , smiled, joked, laughed together. It was always so serious and regimented and Alec had never once clocked it. And yet, with Magnus, since day one of meeting him it had all been up in the air. Other than his work schedule, he actually socialised. Magnus joined them for family game night every week and Madzie would still stay at the weekends. He actually had a life. He laughed, he joked, he smiled, he shared how he was feeling…..and it was because of Magnus. 

“Are you with that guy you were dancing with?” Andrew asked drawing Alec out of his revery. 

Alec shook his head. “No.” 

“Well, the guy clearly liked you so I hope you have his phone number. Not that this isn’t weird giving dating advice to my ex-fiance but…. if he can make you smile like that I would say go for it.” Andrew looked at his watch. “I’m sorry. I need to go. I have a plane to catch. Maybe when things have calmed down between us, we could talk again? I may have lost you as a lover but I don’t want to lose you as a friend.” 

Alec nodded slowly, his mind still on Andrew’s advice “Sure”

Andrew nodded. “Goodbye Alec.” With that he walked out, leaving Alec pondering. 

He couldn’t have sat on the floor, lost in thought with his back against the kitchen island for more than 20 minutes before another knock was heard at the door. Alec looked at the door confused. Everyone who needed to know, knew that Alec didn’t live here at the moment. Or was it Andrew again? Did he leave something here? He groaned at he got up from his spot on the floor and made his way to the front door opening it. 

“Magnus” Alec said surprised to see the panting man in his door way. “What are you doing here? Are you okay?” 

“Where have you been Alec? I tried to call you multiple times along with Izzy and Jace. None of us knew where you were. We have looked everywhere for you! Izzy told me that you were going to spend five minutes here and then you were going to come home. It’s 8pm! You were supposed to be home over three hours ago!” Alec looked at his watch. Shit he was right. Had Alec really been sitting on the floor lost in his thought for over two and a half hours?

Alec shook his head to rearrange his thoughts. “I’m sorry. I must have not realised the time.” 

“You think?” Magnus huffed typing furiously on his phone. “Well you will be happy to know that I have called off the cavalry. But don’t be surprised if you get a bollocking or two from Jace and Izzy when you decide to look at your phone again.” 

Alec pulled his phone out of his pocket looking at the blank screen. “Ah. Phone died. No wonder I didn’t hear you call me” 

Magnus put his hands over his face exasperated. “You idiot. I told you to pack your power bank in your bag to avoid situations like this! You had us all so worried!” 

Alec looked at Magnus perplexed “All of you?” 

“Yes! Me, Izzy and Jace. What are you not understanding about this?” Magnus answered irately 

“You were worried about me?” Alec asked bewildered 

Magnus threw his hands in the arm making large gestures as he tried his hardest not to shout at Alec for his clear lack of understanding of the situation. “Of course I was you obtuse lanky giant! Anything could have happened to you and we wouldn’t have known! You’re lucky I have you on my ‘find a friends’ app on my phone especially since this was the last place that you were registered going to-” 

Alec decided he couldn’t stand here anymore listening to Magnus talk. He was so overwhelmed with love for this man in this very moment, so he grabbed Magnus by the lapels of his suit jacket and crushed his lips against Magnus’. Magnus immediately stopped talking as soon as his lips met Alec’s, shocked at first by the current development but also excited at the prospect that this was actually happening. Alec was kissing him!

They stayed like that for a minute or two, exploring each other as much as they allowed themselves before Alec moved away suddenly, Magnus chasing Alec’s lips as they drew away from him. 

“Well that was..unexpected” Magnus joked making Alec laugh. Magnus couldn’t help but smile at the laughter lines forming by Alec’s eyes. He always found them adorable. “So…. I think it’s safe to say that you like me?” 

“What gave you the impression” Alec joked back making Magnus laugh. 

“For what it’s worth Alexander, before I got the call to say that you were missing, I was going to tell you that…. I like you too” 

Alec smiled. “Well that’s good to know.” 

“So. Where do we go from here?” 

“Well, I’ve been informed that I can return home now but.. honestly? This place doesn’t feel like my home anymore. It’s at the apartment with you.” 

Before Magnus could reply, his phone rang in his hand. He turned to look at the number. It’s was Ragnor who was calling from his office phone so he decided to answer it. “Hello? Hi Ragnor. Okay… Great…. Yes he’s here. I’ll tell him now…. Thank you. Bye” He switched off the call to look at Alec. “That was Ragnor. He just told me that the divorce has officially gone through. We are no longer married.” 

Alec smiled. “Well then, I suggest that since we are no longer married, we could start over again?” Alec pulled out his hand for Magnus to shake. Perplexed, Magnus shakes it. “Hi I’m Alec Lightwood. Nice to meet you. Do you want to go for a drink sometime?” 

Magnus laughed at the ridiculousness of it all but steeled himself to answer “Hi Alec. I’m Magnus Bane. Yes I would love to go on a date with you.” 

“How about now? I happen to know someone who owns an amazing nightclub. Care to join me for a drink there?” 

Magnus smiled. “That sounds wonderful Alexander.”


	12. chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter! Thank you so much for all of the kudos and comments over the period of this being uploaded! I have loved seeing all of your support and I hope that you have enjoyed reading this fic. 
> 
> I am currently writing another malec fic but this one is going to take a while so I will upload when I can. 
> 
> Thank you all again from the bottom of my heart and enjoy this short but sweet epilogue!

“Are you sure he is going to like this?” Alec asked shuffling from foot to foot as Izzy straightened Alec’s tie. 

“Calm down big brother. Magnus is going to love it.” Alec looked at the balcony outside the apartment. Izzy and Jace had done an amazing job in helping Alec getting everything sorted for tonight. Considering it was their two year anniversary, Alec naturally wanted to do something special for Magnus. 

The last few years had been a whirlwind for them both. From meeting, to finding out they were accidentally married, to Alec moving in with Magnus. It had all happened so fast that Alec didn’t feel like he had time to catch up with himself. 

Now, after a long talk, they both agreed that Alec would sell his apartment and stay living with Magnus permanently since neither of them liked the idea of wanting to be separated, but this time with a difference. Alec still had his room but it was mainly a guest room or for where Alec could sleep when he was doing a night shoot and didn’t want to disturb Magnus in the morning by coming in at a ridiculous time. Alec loved every moment of waking up in the morning next to Magnus and he knew in his heart that he wanted moments like that for the rest of his life. 

“Everything is all set up. You just need to keep an eye on the food, don’t worry, Jace had sorted it not me. I’ll leave you to it. I expect a phone call in the morning so you can tell me how it went.” Izzy smiled as she finished making sure Alec looked perfect in his navy suit. 

“Thank you Izzy. I owe you one.” 

“Make me a bridesmaid and we will call it even.” Izzy called behind her as she left the apartment giddily. 

Alec took a deep breath. Maybe he could have a quick shot of something to calm himself before Magnus gets home? No. He wanted to be fully sober for this moment. He felt the velvet box in his suit jacket burn against him every time he moved. ‘It’s Magnus. This is us. Everything will be fine’ Alec kept repeating like a mantra. He checked his watch. Magnus was only running five minutes late so far which was nothing new. Alec had sent Magnus a mysterious text to make sure he was home by 7.30pm and to make sure he was dressed nice. Not that Magnus ever dressed badly in Alec’s mind but the situation called for a little bit of dressing up. Alec was in a suit of all things and he hates hearing suits! 

After another ten minutes of pacing around the living room, Alec turns to face the door as Magnus walks through. Alec smiled as he noticed Magnus had gone for a classy look today. He had worn a black waistcoat with a black and white polka dot shirt underneath, black trousers and black shoes. He looked so sexy right now that Alec almost forgot that he had dinner cooked in the oven and a nice candlelit setting outside for Magnus. 

“I’m so sorry I’m late darling. I had to finish off some paperwork so I could take tomorrow off.” Magnus commented giving Alec a kiss. “You look dashing in your suit by the way.” 

“Hoping to get lucky are we Mr Bane?” Alec joked giving Magnus another kiss, making sure he didn’t get too close to Magnus in case he felt the box in his pocket. 

“There is always a hope for that Mr Lightwood.” 

“Come on. I made us dinner.” Alec said showing Magnus to the balcony showing the candlelit dinner setting surrounded by candles and fairy lights. 

“Oh Alexander. This is beautiful thank you. You spoil me.” Magnus commented as he made his way to sit down at the table. 

“Well I thought it would be nice to do something special. Stay there, I’ll bring out dinner.” For the next hour, they sat at the table outside talking about Magnus’ work, about Alec’s up and coming movie from the role he auditioned for a few years ago and Izzy and Simon’s up and coming wedding. 

“I swear Magnus if Izzy takes me to one more wedding venture I think I might uninvite myself. I don’t think I can deal with another cake tasting”

Magnus laughed. “But that’s the best part Alexander. The planning is all part of it. It builds up the excitement for the big day.” 

Alec smiled. “I guess.” He couldn’t help but think about how excited Magnus would be if they were to start planning their own wedding. Alec chuckled to himself. Being the uncoordinated person that he was, he would probably let Magnus plan the whole thing anyway. If Magnus decided he wanted him to wear some horrendous suit and carry a bouquet of flowers on their wedding day then he would let him. He would do anything to make Magnus happy. “Then you get to go to the next one. I’m all caked out for the moment. I already have to double my gym time to stay in shape for filming.” 

Magnus smiled “I’ll gladly go. Maybe I can take Izzy out shopping after. I could do with a day of retail therapy with her.” 

The pair of them fell into a comfortable silence as they had finished their dinner. The music that played in the living room out onto the balcony chimed through and Alec saw this as his opportune moment. He looked out into the living room to hint he was listening to the music then back to Magnus. “Dance with me” Alec said holding a hand out. Magnus gladly took it and they made their way into the open living room space, swaying slowly side to side in each other’s arms. 

Magnus sighed in contentment as he pressed against Alec, holding one of Alec's hand while the other was on Alec's waist with his head resting on his shoulder. “This night is perfect. Thank you Alexander.” 

“It’s all for you.... You know? I’ve been thinking about us a lot lately.” Magnus lifted his head from Alec’s shoulder and stared into his eyes smiling. 

“Is that so?”

Alec nodded smiling. “I was thinking about how everything happened between us was such a whirlwind. We met in such weird circumstances and yet the universe decided that it was time for us to meet and I’m so glad that we did. I’m glad that I get to see you every morning and I get to spend every day with you. What we have is the best thing that has happened in my life but….. I think there is something missing from our relationship.” Alec stopped their dancing and pulled away from Magnus as he dropped to one knee and pulled out the jewellery box from his pocket. This was it. This was the moment and he was going to grab it. The moment was perfect. Magnus stared at him in shock and pulled one hand over his mouth. 

“Magnus. Ever since we got together, I knew that we fitted together. Nothing was going to stand in our way. There is nothing that I don’t love about you. I love your laugh, your smile, the way you have opened my eyes to a more beautiful world and all of the experiences it has to offer. I know that I just said that I love to spend my day with you but I was wondering if you would be willing to spend the rest of your days with me.” Alec opened the box to show a simple platinum band with a single blue sapphire in the middle. It was classy but very Magnus. “I know this is not the same ring as you had before but I’m very sure this one will actually fit you this time.” Magnus laughed at the memory through soft tears of waking up with the ring he was meant to give to Dot on his pinky finger. “Magnus Bane. Love of my life. Will you marry me....again?” 

Magnus laughed and immediately shot down to the floor and kissed Alec hard on the lips. “Yes. Yes. Absolutely yes.” He answered, a lone tear running down his cheek. Alec beamed as he took the ring out of the box and placed it on Magnus’ finger. 

“You know. I think we were on the same wavelength.” Magnus whispered. Alec looked back at Magnus baffled as he pulled a small box out of his trouser pocket. It was a ring box! Magnus opened it to show Alec a similar ring but this time with a red ruby in the middle. “I had planned to ask you for while now but I couldn’t find the right time. But I think it’s only fair that since you beat me to it, I get to ask too. So Alexander Gideon Lightwood. I may have agreed to marry you but, will you marry me.... again too?”

Alec beamed and nodded. “Absolutely” After placing the ring on Alec’s finger, they kissed again. 

“I love you Magnus Bane” 

“I love you too Alexander”


End file.
